Black Rock Shooter: Stars Through Darkness
by Kurisaki-sempai
Summary: As the Otherworld slowly falls apart and its inhabitants are unleashed upon the world due to the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy, the advent of the greatest catastrophe the world will ever face draws nigh and untold secrets are revealed.
1. Prolouge

**Hello there! Welcome, and thanks for taking time to read **_**Stars through Darkness**_**, my first work here on Fanfiction!****  
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**The story is based on a theoretical connection between the OVA and the Game's events, but since I want things to blend more into canon territory, this will most likely be also using certain elements and characters from the Innocent Soul manga and 2012 anime series. Events here start off about a year after the events of the OVA.****  
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**Thanks again for reading. I hope you find this 'fic enjoyable~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own BRS. Names, characters, and references that may or may not appear belong to Huke, Ordet, Aniplex, and their respective owners.**

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><p><em>"In this godforsaken hell that we call home, there is but one simple rule: kill or be killed."<em>**  
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**B RS :Stars Through Darkness**

**Prolouge chapter: Foreshadow**

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><p>The barren earth seemed to go on for eternity.<p>

A great valley stretched as far as the eye could see, mountains of jagged gray rock jutting out like stalagmites in the distance. Various sights dotted the desolate land: plateaus, canyons, craters, titanic blades of unearthly origin, and, quite eerily, already-devastated structures—ones mangled beyond vague recognition-indicating where civilization once thrived.

Not a single cloud decorated the sky; but where there should have been an infinite manifestation of bright, vibrant blue was a never-ending canopy of toneless, monochrome gray. Rusting chains of black metal extended themselves into the infinite void in the likeness of a spider's realm, where one could never see where they ever touched.

A mere centimeter-thick layer of stale ash covered the tough, dull earth, some of it manifesting above the ground as it was raised by a lifeless breeze. The air stank of death and decay, the horrid stench enhance by the drafts that seemed never-ending.

If one were to closely observe the explicit details of the land, they would easily conclude that a great battle had taken place—no doubt the one responsible for wiping everything out in a manner that did not leave the slightest scrap for the scavengers to pick.

In what could possibly be the very center of this dead world, where the smell of rot and murder reeked the most, was a pit of immense proportions.

It wasn't just any pit, however: this was a place where even the bravest of the ones who remained in this world dared not venture; it was an infamous reminder of what this place had once been, the mere thought of the damned landmark enough to resurface recollections best left forgotten. Of course, almost everyone here knew of the pit, and its somewhat unconventional use which formed the main source of its iniquitous stench.

The Executioner's Pit—a place where the dead were simply tossed away, left to rot for the rest of eternity.

And there, standing over the abyss' edge, was the one whom the place was named after.

An ankle-length coat hugged the figure's surprisingly nimble frame, bearing the mark of a white star on the back of its cobalt-black surface. A large hood concealed the figure's features from wandering eyes, a pair of bundled black locks the only things visibly hanging from the person's dark shroud. Nimble thighs were seen from where the figure's coat whipped and trailed in the wind, below them a pair of form-fitting black leather boots slightly coated with the incommodious ash.

In a somewhat grisly image that blended in with the lifeless ambience of the vicinity, the figure's wiry hand held on to another one behind them, its telltale sign of inanimation describing it as a corpse.

A girl's body hung from where the figure held on to it by the back of its collar, its head drooping down lifelessly with its matted black hair covering pale features from sight. The lower half of its body was dirtied with dried blood and sticking ash, a long trail of shifted gray earth tailing behind the two which indicated that the corpse was simply dragged towards the site.

The most enthralling feature of the dead body, however, was something that marked her to be nonhuman. Already as lifeless as the rest of its limbs, the corpse's right "arm" was a large appendage of reddish-black bones, a multi-segmented arm that ended with a large skeletal hand of the same color. The large arm was about three times longer than the girl's height, its entire length catching as much ash as the body when it was dragged along.

The figure's attention shifted slowly to the left then to the right, seemingly searching for a favorable spot. Without further ado, the figure put strength into the arm holding on to the corpse, flinging it right into the dark abyss. Its massive skeletal limb, having more weight than the rest of the body, rattled momentarily when it grazed the craggy rock edge and kicked up a small cloud of ash before dropping down with the rest of the body.

A barely audible thud was heard moments later, the sound reverberating through the dark chasm before giving way to dead silence once more.

The figure continued to stare into the pit for some time, with the constant blinking of its bioluminescent blue eyes the only movement made despite it being unseen under the large hood.

Moments later, the figure straightened and fixed its gaze onto the dark horizon. It closed its eyes and slowly took in a single breath, not minding the strong smell of decay. It then exhaled as slowly as it had taken in the stale air, bringing a gloved hand within its line of sight. The hand clenched shut, slowly opening again, before it was brought over where the figure's heart would be.

The figure's head hung back down, staring into the pit… but this time, a small flicker of emotion revealed itself on its stoic face—one of pain. Its eyebrows ruffled and its lips parted to reveal clenched teeth.

Then, it spoke in a slightly breaking voice that made the person's identity known.

"How much more…" a female voice left the figure's lips, "How _many more_ _lives_ do I have to take…?"


	2. Chapter 1: Peace and Quiet

Three girls were walking home from school one December afternoon. The sidewalk was a white, snowy path, with snowflakes steadily falling all around. The sky was a little dark as the 5-o-clock sun slowly settled, but it didn't really affect the girl's moods in a way.

"So Mato, you got any plans for Christmas vacation?" Asked one of the girls. She was the shortest of the three, her hazel eyes matching the color of her messy hair. Her uniform was a long-sleeved blue-and-white seifuku, and around her small neck was a sand-brown scarf.

The girl in question answered, "Not really, Yuu," She scratched the back of her head sheepishly, "I was kinda planning on spending all that time at home, we weren't really considering going somewhere else this year." Mato, though short as well, stood a few inches taller than the petite Yuu. Her cobalt-black hair was tied into uneven pigtails, and her eyes were a deep sapphire hue. Her outfit was the same as Yuu's, though her scarf had a black-and-white checkered design.

Mato turned her attention to the other girl. "What about you, Yomi?" She asked.

The third, and clearly tallest, of the three perked her head up. Yomi's gentle, pretty eyes were toned emerald, and her greenish-black hair waved down her shoulders elegantly. Her scarf was positioned snugly around her neck, with a bright green, tartan-checkered pattern.

"Eh?" She appeared to be thinking about something before Mato broke her trance.

"Any plans?" Mato asked again.

"O-oh," Yomi stuttered a little, "No, my parents said we could stay in Machinami Cho this year. It's great that they weren't planning on travelling someplace different just like every other year."

"That means we can spend this holiday together, right?" Asked Mato, her blue irises gleaming hopefully.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Yay!" Mato cheered, "I got my lovely Yomi all to myself~!" She hugged the taller girl so suddenly Yomi almost fell over.

Yuu just giggled at her friend's childishness, though she felt a tinge of envy at not being the one under Mato's "assault." A moment later she asked, "What were you thinking about, Yomi?"

With her face full of Mato's snuggling, Yomi feebly replied, "I was just wondering, why wasn't Yamamura-sempai present at your basketball practice earlier? I don't think I remember as one for being absent, even once. Some of the girls at volleyball were wondering about it too."

"She left last night for Tokyo," Mato answered for Yuu, "She was going to spend Christmas with her older brother in Akihabara, since they haven't spent some time together for a while."

After walking through snow-covered sidewalks for some time, with the girls' light conversing and the occasional hum of a passing vehicle breaking the serene silence, the three came across the intersection heading into Yuu's neighborhood. Mato and Yomi waved the petite girl goodbye, and headed toward the train station, ready to catch the next ride home.

Later that evening…

Yomi was in her room, the dark space of four walls illuminated only by a single lamplight on her desk. She was on said desk, facing what appeared to be a bright green, springed diary.

Yomi gently flipped it several pages forward, stopping once she found blank, untouched space. She picked up her pen lying a few inches away from the diary, and racked her mind thinking of which first words to use on the event she was going to write about. Then, she began.

_Thursday, December 20, 2012_

_Hello again, Diary. Sorry if I had not written a thing on you this week. Busy, busy, busy! So, can I tell you about the stuff that's been going on lately? It's been really fun!_

_Our school had planned to throw a Christmas party for all of us on Friday, which is tomorrow, by the way. It was planned and set together by the student council so we could spend time together as schoolmates and friends a few days before Christmas break._

_It's kinda sad that Yamamura-sempai won't be there; she's gone off to Akihabara earlier this week so she could visit her brother. She's sent us her best wishes so I guess it's still okay for us, right?_

_Anyway, I'm sure we're gonna have a fun time tomorrow._

_Sincerely,_

_Yomi~ :3_

Feeling a little satisfied with the short memo, Yomi stood from the desk, stretched her arms, and yawned. It was getting late, and she sure deserved some rest after a really busy day.

Yomi plopped herself onto bed, snuggling into the warm covers. She then set the alarm on her phone, placed it on the bedside drawer, and drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 2: Unexpected Reunion

In her subconscious state, Yomi had a dream. Or, at least, what_ appeared_ to be a dream.

She was standing all alone inside what seemed to be a run-down cathedral. Rubble was everywhere, several of the pillars holding the structure together were severely damaged, and shards of broken glass were twinkling in the faint moonlight glistening down from giant holes in the intricately designed ceiling. Several chains crisscrossed around the interior, giving it the appearance of giant metal webs in a spider's lair.

Despite the ominous, looming atmosphere of the area, the place was silent. _Dead_ silent. It was so quiet, Yomi could hear the sound of her own breathing, and the slight crumbling of rubble was noticeably audible.

Moments later, an earsplitting crack, which felt like thunder in the eerie silence, shook the area. The remaining pillars began to break, losing their support of the chamber. The ceiling collapsed, threatening to bury Yomi in a huge pile of dirt and concrete. The roof was caving in. With no means of escape or protection in sight, Yomi could only raise her arms in defense, silently waiting for the crushing that would probably wake her up from this mess.

It never came. Slowly opening her eyes, she was surprised to find that the large slabs of concrete were just hovering above her, as if they had stopped their fall to spare Yomi from being turned into a bloody mess on the floor.

"What the…"

"Oh, my!" squealed a female voice behind Yomi. "Are you okay?"

"What's going on-" She slowly turned to face her addresser, only to pale in shock when she saw who it was.

The girl was clothed in a puffy, frilly black dress, where a white ribbon decorated a spot below the waist. Her pale white face was adorned with green-rimmed glasses, and was partially covered in a translucent light-green veil. Strangely enough, vertebrae-shaped horns crowned her wavy black hair, two bony wings jutted out from her back, and her hands were fitted with large skeletal gauntlets. The most unsettling feature about her, however... was that she looked _exactly_ like Yomi.

The girl stood before her on top of a portion of the ceiling with her arms stretched forward, indicating she had halted the incoming slabs before they could reach Yomi. With a wave of her arms, the hovering piles of concrete moved several feet away from where they stood, and crashed into the earth just as the girl ended her stance.

"Sorry about that," the girl laughed sheepishly, "This place was already falling apart when I got here. Are you okay? Did you break anything?" She asked.

"You…" Yomi faintly muttered.

Mistaking Yomi's look for one of unfamiliarity, the girl uneasily chuckled, "Probably shocked about my appearance, huh? It's okay, I won't hurt you." She hopped from her perch and sauntered toward the astonished girl. Stopping a safe distance before Yomi, she held out her hand for a handshake and smiled. "Pleased to meet you, Yomi. My name is Dead Master."

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><p>Despite the lateness of the hour, Mato was still awake. She was stretched out face-up on bed, with the sheets covering her up to her waist, and her hands behind her head as a makeshift pillow.<p>

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as her own voice resonated through her psyche, _"Rock, you there?"_

"_I believe it would be unhealthy for you to be up this late, Mato,"_ a voice replied with a hint of amusement, _"This likely explains your problems about your height."_

"_Oh come on, Rock," _Mato retorted, _"I'm just bored."_

"_Aren't you supposed to be excited for tomorrow's party?" _Rock asked_._

"_Kinda," _answered Mato_, "But I've also been thinking about other things…" _She slowly grinned_, "like what you promised me a few days back."_

"_Please don't tell me we're going through this again…"_

"_Come on!" _Mato had no worries about pleading like a little kid—Rock was the only one who could _hear_ her anyway. "_It always sounds so cool when you talk about this stuff."_

She could psychically hear an exasperated sigh over at Rock's end. _"Very well. But this time…" _Rock paused for a moment, and Mato could tell that her Other self was considering something. "_How about a place where I'm more comfortable? It gets tiring when you sometimes don't pay attention."_

"_I'll be listening real well this time~!" _

The next moment, Mato found herself in a seemingly endless expanse of bright blue space. She could see what could only be described as clouds in the distance, with stars dotting the horizon at random intervals. She looked around the area, almost expecting a sensation of weightlessness in the cerulean void, but the company of ever-present gravity negated that thought. Mato had been in this place a couple of times before—a world which existed within her very being, a world that served as a sanctuary for the girl she came to know as Black Rock Shooter—her alter ego, her doppelganger, her other self.

"That was fast." Rock's cool, omnipresent voice rang.

Within the void, Mato could see Black Rock Shooter for herself, instead of the usual telepathic exchanges they often shared. Black Rock Shooter was a spitting image of Mato, though she stood a head taller than her host. Her appearance had its differences from Mato: her skin was pale as death, one of her equally-messy, uneven pigtails reached down to her knees, and a few battle scars were visible on her exposed skin. Her all-black attire consisted of a bikini top, tight shorts, slender boots, and a long black hoodie adorned with a white star on the back and left chest that cloaked her slim frame.

"Yo," Mato greeted.

"Shall we get started?" Rock said, "You're going to need a good night's sleep, young lady."

"You talk like my Mom." Mato teased.


	4. Chapter 3: Subconscious Chatter

"What's wrong?" Dead Master worriedly asked when Yomi suddenly backed away, utter fear plastered all over her features.

"Y-you…" Yomi stuttered, the horror clear in her voice.

"What is it, Yomi? Why are you so scared?" Dead Master carefully took a few steps toward Yomi, but the other girl picked up a small chunk of rock and flung it at her, stopping her in her tracks. Dead Master ducked, letting the projectile whiz past her.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Yomi wailed.

"Yomi, it's okay! I won't hurt you, really! J-Just calm down—"

"YOU'RE DEAD!" Yomi screamed again.

"What do you mean, Yomi?" Dead Master asked incredulously, "What are you talking about? I'm right here—"

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!"

Yomi lost her footing and fell backwards, landing on her behind. Dead Master quickly rushed in to help her up, but before she could come any closer, Yomi groped around for anything she could use, and came across what remained of a piece of railings. From how it was broken, what was left resembled some kind of javelin or spear. She picked it up and whirled around, slashing Dead Master directly on the cheek, whacking away the glasses that she wore. The horned girl yelped in pain and instantly brought a hand to her wounded face, backing away and stumbling, landing painfully on her knees.

The makeshift weapon Yomi held trembled along with her in her tight grip as she shivered in even greater fear. This was it, she thought. Now that she had wounded this monster, her life was going to end in a moment… But when Dead Master raised her face to meet Yomi's eyes as she clutched her bleeding cheek, she was surprised to see pain reflected in those glowing green orbs.

Yomi decided to take a small gamble. "Why… _why_ are you talking like that?" She noticed that she was breathing a little heavily. She let herself relax slightly, but she didn't drop her guard. "Don't you remember… can't you remember what you've done?"

"What do you mean?" Dead Master asked. There was a constant air of confusion around her; Yomi didn't understand it one bit.

"You _know_ what I mean!" Yomi snapped, making Dead Master cringed at her fierce tone. "A year ago, you took me away from everyone! You manipulated and possessed me! Because of that…" The usually calm and composed girl was on the verge of breaking. "B-Because of that, w-when Mato arrived to help me… I almost killed her! I almost ended up killing my best friend! IT'S YOUR ENTIRE FAULT!"

"I…" Dead Master shakily caught her breath, not sure what she should say with Yomi in this state, "I don't… I don't know what you're talking about, Yomi…"

"LIAR!" Yomi screeched. She made a thrusting motion with the spear, and Dead Master cowered away from the cold, sharp steel.

"I-I swear, I don't know what you're talking about!" Dead Master pleaded, "I… I can't convince you how, but… It's the truth!" She whimpered and looked up at her human counterpart with tear-stained eyes, "P-Please believe me, Yomi…"

Wait, _what_? This did _not_ just make any sense. Seeing Dead Master act like this was giving Yomi a mental headache; there was no way she'd _ever _act like this. Dead Master was claiming she didn't remember messing Yomi up? Moreover, she was even acting like a prissy little goody two-shoes, for crying out loud!

Yomi was starting to lose her edgy mood. Still doubting Dead Master's words, however, she still kept the spear primed down at her. "You don't think it ever happened?" She asked.

Dead Master sniffled a little before slowly nodding.

"Earlier… you mentioned that you found this place already in shambles 'when you got here.' What did you mean by that?" She slightly tightened her hold on the spear and gestured for Dead Master to answer. "Explain."

Dead Master still held her palm to her cheek. "I can't exactly remember when or how I got here… it just happened." Her gauntleted hand slowly left her face, and she glanced at some of the blood that had gotten on her sleeve. Yomi saw that the wound didn't do much damage, but it still did a lot to ruin her pretty face. The fact that Dead Master looked exactly like her was unsettling. "I started knowing you ever since. But the bond between you and me was too weak for me to at least talk to you… It was lonely. But then, something strange happened. I think it was a few hours ago…" Dead Master seemed to get a little enthused as she said her next words, "For some reason, something was making the power connecting us stronger, and then, when you slept, it was at its peak. I couldn't miss this chance of being able to speak with you for the first time, then…" Her jovial expression dropped. "Then… we met, and… you attacked me." So much for enthusiasm.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Yomi lowered the spear. She sure as heck didn't feel like doing so, but if Dead Master really didn't mean any harm, this was the only way to know for sure: she tossed the spear away. Dead Master looked surprised, but didn't say a thing. Yomi turned away and started rummaging at a pile of debris a distance away; Dead Master didn't know what she was looking for, but the answer came when Yomi reached for something on the dust-and-rock filled ground. She wiped the dust away from the object with her shirt, then slowly walked towards Dead Master and set it on the ground about a foot away from her.

Dead Master looked up a little surprisingly at Yomi, but her human counterpart didn't return the stare. A little shakily, she then picked up her glasses from where Yomi place it on the ground in front of her. Even though it received some of the impact when Yomi attacked her, the glasses were surprisingly unharmed. "Thank you…" she softly said.

"Don't thank me," Yomi muttered, though it was loud enough for Dead Master to hear, "I basically just cut you, anyway."

"It'll heal. I don't think it's going to leave a scar, so it's fine." Dead Master set the glasses back on her face, standing up. Yomi stood as well, though she backed away a little. With the both of them standing closer than earlier, one could see that Dead Master was a few inches taller than Yomi. "Um… Yomi…" She started, but the other girl cut her off.

"No, I still don't trust you." Yomi curtly said, "That can't just happen in an instant, you know… I'll need time. I'm not even sure if you really are telling the truth."

"I see," Dead Master hung her head in defeat.

"So," Yomi said, "Are you letting me out of here, or not?"

Dead Master nervously raised her head to look at Yomi, "Y-You're leaving? But-"

Yomi cut her off again. "You said something about this 'mental bond' thing right? Since we met, you can probably talk to me at certain occasions now." She was playing with luck a little; who knew if her horned counterpart would really let her go?

Dead Master appeared to be thinking this over a little. After a moment she unsteadily sighed. "Alright…" She half-heartedly muttered. "But… promise me we'll get to meet each other again… please."

Those were the last words Yomi heard before the comfy sensation of rest filled her vision with blackness.

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><p>"…and 'Other Selves,' also called 'Mirror' or 'Shadow' selves like me act as the soul of his or her host." Black Rock Shooter explained.<p>

Both Mato and Rock were facing each other, both of them sitting cross-legged on the ground. They looked like they were just sitting on air in the cerulean void.

"_Nice~!_" Mato sniggered, and proceeded giving Rock even more questions. Strangely, Mato's taller counterpart didn't appear to be annoyed. In fact, she just gave an answer for each one asked, the words flowing out of her tongue from impressive memory.

"Uh, where'd you get to know all this stuff?" Mato asked enthusiastically, "You really know a lot!"

"I have come across archives at certain points during my travels in the Otherworld." Rock answered, "I sometimes take the time to read records, though I occasionally get chased away by their rude proprietors, each time at the point of a blade or firearm."

"Meh, can't they share what they got with other people? No point in just keeping knowledge for themselves if they might get killed at any time, considering how the whole place is how you say it is." Mato commented, and started on another question, "So you used to travel all over the place, huh? Were there friendly people? There's gotta be a few, at least!"

"Contrary to your first statement," Rock answered again, "people do not die in the Otherworld."

"Say _WHAT_?" Mato shockingly exclaimed.

"It is strange, that much is true, but death is a mere concept in that realm." Rock lighty flicked Mato's forehead to stop her gawking, "It is a world where death is close to impossible. That is why my kind lives for the thrill of battle, since we cannot die if we remain in the Otherworld. I've already mentioned where I got these scars, correct?" Rock pointed at the scars on her bare stomach.

"You got stabbed with a huge saw-shaped sword, got your entrails gutted off when it was pulled out, and then you got flattened under tons of falling concrete." Mato winced at the description. "Ouch. Now _that _explains how you survived it…"

"Believe me, It was such a fight that left me out of commission for God knows how long." Rock said, "Now, for the other question… Well, I _have_ met others, though they never spared me their names."

"Oh, I got another one," Mato started again, "You said that Other Selves move from body to body like reincarnation so they got a way to see into the real world, right? Who was your last host? What about the first? Did she or he look like you, too?"

"I did not have one."

"Eh? How come?" Mato asked, confused at Rock's answer.

"You _are_ my first host, Mato," Rock replied, "It is my first attempt at trying to do so… and I believe it's rather nice. I never had anyone to talk to so openly in ages."

"Whoa, awesome!" Mato squealed, "I'm totally honored~!"

Several minutes afterward, Mato was still bombarding Rock with questions like there's no tomorrow. Heck, it was gonna be a LONG night for the both of 'em. Well thank God; Mato really _was_ paying attention, at least.

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><p>Yomi slowly opened her eyes. She squinted when small stray beams of sunlight met her. From the bedside drawer, her phone suddenly beeped loudly. Groggily shifting in her bed to pick it up, she flipped the green phone open and glanced at the numbers on the screen.<p>

"6:15 A.M..." She sleepily muttered.


	5. Chapter 4: The Calm Before The Storm

Yomi was silent at breakfast. She couldn't help but think about what had happened the night before—the 'dream' that she knew was oh-so-real. To her bewilderment, the being she knew as Dead Master has offered a friendly hand—so unlike the monster she believed her to be.

If she was the same entity who had tricked her back then, what had happened to her? Did she hit her head real hard? Probably, since the roof was literally falling on her; was it even possible for some kind of personality switch to happen for things like Dead Master? Yomi felt that her words were sincere, despite the fact that she didn't trust her. Just what is Dead Master anyway? Where did she come from? Why did she look like Yomi?

Yomi had too many unanswered questions, and the fact that she didn't know who to turn to for answers frustrated her. She just picked uninterestedly at her food, and her uncharacteristic vibe didn't go by unnoticed.

"What's wrong, dear?" Yomi's mother asked. Their family of three was seated at the dining table, with Yomi's father casually reading the newpaper while sipping from a mug of coffee. The couple had been appreciative that their daughter had been opening up to people more since they moved here in Kyoto three years ago, and something like this was sure to grab their attention.

"Bad night," Yomi dully replied. She drearily sighed and popped a piece of omelet into her mouth. The taste didn't even seem to register itself into her tongue. "Some past ghosts haunting me. Can't think straight."

Yomi's father raised a brow at those words. Feeling that Yomi might just be having some personal affairs, he set his mug of coffee down on the table and calmly glanced at his daughter. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"If it helps," Yomi answered in the same uninterested tone. She sighed again and looked at her parents with a bit of tension in her gaze. "If… you had someone that did something really horrible to you… and that person wanted to apologize for it, what should you do?" Yomi asked.

"Well," her father replied, "bad things happen to me all the time. It happens a lot when you run a competitive business, after all." He joked, trying to ease the tension somewhat. "But," his tone turned serious, "if that person really is claiming that he wants your forgiveness with heartfelt honesty, then why not just give that person a chance? It's going to be hard at first, but compassion usually makes things better in the long run."

"You think that it'll work?" Yomi asked.

"Sure do," her father replied, "But to be blunt, you shouldn't be too naïve, either. Can you imagine how bad it'll be if it turns out that person was just messing around? In my opinion, nothing's as bad as ruining someone's trust, Yomi. It's one thing that's not easily obtained a third time." His features then shifted to a small smile. "But as I said, give that person a chance. You wouldn't want to be the bad guy in the picture, now, wouldn't you?"

The rest of the morning had gone in silence, with Yomi silently contemplating about her father's words. Her parents were still a little worried about her, but a few moments later, the small smile that appeared on her face had them think otherwise, somewhat.

At one point, Yomi's mother brought up another subject. "By the way, your cousin Yoshiko said she was coming over, Yomi."

"Yoshi-nee-chan?" Yomi asked, surprised at the news, "I thought she wouldn't be able to go anywhere until she graduated from military school." She was incredulous, but the prospect of seeing her older cousin after a long time lightened her mood. "Did she say anything else?" Yomi asked.

"Well, she just said that it'd be important." Her father answered.

Yomi stood and gave a polite bow a few minutes later. "I'll be going now," she said, obviously feeling better, "thanks for the meal, Mom." She walked over to the couch and picked up her bag and scarf, placing the warm cloth around her neck comfortably. She then turned to her parents, who were still giving her a worried look. "I'll be okay. It's thanks to the little pep talk that Dad gave."

She gave them a polite nod, and headed towards the door. "Bye Mom, Dad. Love you."

"Love you too, Yomi. Have a nice day!" said her mother.

"Get going already," her father jested, "you wouldn't want Mato waiting, right?"

Yomi chuckled at her Dad's response, and gave them one last 'I love you' before heading out.

* * *

><p>"What is it?" Yomi's mother asked her husband, seeing that he had somehow turned tense.<p>

He didn't answer. Instead, he continued to stare intently at the topics on the newspaper, eyeing them warily.

"_METEOR CLUSTERS STRIKE EARTH – Military starts evacuating civilians"_

"_RELIGIOUS GROUPS PROTESTING – 'Divine Judgment?'"_

"_STRANGE CREATURES SEEN AT CRASH SIGHTS – 'Just what is the government hiding from us?'"_

"This can't be the reason why Yoshi's coming over, could it?" he muttered ominously.

* * *

><p>"Hahaha, I actually got here earlier than you~!"<p>

It seems that Yomi wouldn't have to worry too much about Mato.

She had found her best friend eagerly waiting for her at their usual spot, a small decorated hill overlooking the whole neighborhood. The splendid sight from its top was sure to amaze anyone at any time of the year; from above, one could see how the masses of homes dotted the landscape, with the trees likening the houses in number. The flora offered a wonderful view: the powdery snow covering almost every inch accented the winter wonderland their home had become during the season.

Mato, of course, didn't appear to be bothered by the weather. As the two friends trotted towards the train station, Yomi had to slightly keep up, since her hyperactive friend was already starting to get a little impatient, now running at an animated pace.

"Come on, Yomi~! I'm leaving you if you go any slower!"

"M-Mato, wait up!" Yomi panted, "I'm not as fast as you, you know!"

The two were able to make it inside the train a few minutes before its automated doors closed, and they could see that some of their schoolmates had already arrived. Mato and Yomi just stood in front of the train doors like they usually did, holding onto some handrails as the train sped across the tracks.

Yomi just chuckled; she was thankful that her day was already starting to get better, and it would even more so once they arrived in school a few minutes later. Mato occupied her friend with random subjects and whatnot, easing the taller girl's earlier tension.

The two came across Yuu as they left the train station, and the Basketball Club Manager was just as excited as Mato about today's events that Yomi couldn't help but feel the same. When they finally arrived, Yomi just glanced at the checkered gates before joining her two friends in rushing through the entrance. They were just going to have a party at school, so nothing could possibly go wrong, right?

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><p>Author's notes: A bit of a filler chapter, unfortunately.<p>

Anyway, I want to thank those who've been reading this fic so far-your support is well appreciated.


	6. Chapter 5: All Hell Breaks Loose

**AN: I apologize for this chapter's delay. School, **procrastination**,**** and sketch practicing have been keeping me busy.**

**I guess I've already spent enough time with the exposition. The complication for this fanfic starts ****now.**

**Also, I'll be introducing a few OCs in this chapter. Enjoy! :3**

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><p><em>Times Square, New York<em>

_0700 hours_

Two men were seated on a bench, indulge in a little conversation. One of them was a tall, lean man, with a head of straight, short blonde hair. He was dressed in a red shirt and a black jacket, along with a pair of black jeans. His cheeks were slightly reddened, courtesy of the beer can in his hand. The other was also tall, though he was an inch shorter than his blonde friend, and was of Asian descent. He was slightly more muscular, his hair a deep wine color with some of it tied into a ponytail, and his face was framed with a pair of glasses. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt and black trousers, and was holding a hot cup of coffee instead.

The blonde took a long swig of the alcohol, emptying its contents. He crushed the empty can in his hand with ease and tossed it into a nearby trashcan, exhaling loudly. "Man! Never had one of those in forever!"

His companion took a light sip from his coffee. "You do know that you guys could still drink that stuff, right? Military training doesn't really prohibit beer on special occasions."

The blonde gave a lighthearted laugh, "Well, just trying to make sure I stay fit for those years, right? Besides, hangovers suck. And didn't you try the same when _you_ were in training?"

The other man gave a chuckle of his own, "You know I don't take alcohol, Connor." He said, addressing the man by his first name.

"You dumbass," he joked, "Of course I know that!"

The blonde, Connor, had been training in the military for four years. He was a cheerful, optimistic man, always one for looking at the bright side of things, and this attitude had helped him get through training in a great way. The other man, Isaki, had already finished training ahead of Connor, and the two had planned spending the day together as reunited friends. As for why they were sitting on a bench instead of partying, it was because they were waiting for another friend of theirs: another man by the name of Theodore. The three had met each other in highschool; and, finding themselves to be of similar interests, had become such good friends that they might as well be brothers.

"…here's a good one," Connor started another subject, getting Isaki's attention again, "Once, there was this dumb kid during target practice who tried to show off. He tried doing a dual wield with two Berettas, and he even did the classic Mexican standoff stance before trying to shoot. You know what happened? The guns obviously didn't have the safety on, so just when he gripped the gun in his right, he accidentally pulled the trigger and shot himself in the foot!"

The two laughed it off, earning odd looks from people as they passed by. "Poor guy ended up with one heck of a punishment, I tell you," said Connor between laughs.

"Never knew that could even happen," Isaki said, still sniggering. Suddenly his phone went off, playing the Nyan Cat song.

Connor laughed again. "Seriously?"

"I-It's catchy…" Isaki said, embarrassed. He took his phone out of his pocket, seeing that it was Theodore who was calling. He clicked a few commands and brought the phone to his ear. "Hey Teddy, where are you? Connor and I have been waiting!"

Elsewhere, a tall man with short black hair and glasses, dressed in a red shirt and cargo pants, smiled sheepishly and answered into his phone, "Sorry, guys. I got a little sidetracked…" He composed himself and spoke again, "Say Isaki, I'm over at Saika's school right now, and the teacher permitted that she could leave. Says she's not feeling well. Think I could take her with me so you can get her?"

At the mention of his daughter's name, Isaki expression tensed, "Wha-? O-Okay, sure. I thought she was feeling okay this morning…"

"See ya at the usual spot, Isaki."

Theodore hung up the phone, sending a beep over at Isaki's end. Isaki then placed the phone back in his pocket, and downed down what was left of his coffee. He crushed the cup in his hand—which sadly excluded the satisfying metallic crunch that cans have, and tossed it into the aforementioned trashcan.

"Who was it?" Connor asked.

"Teddy," Isaki replied, "Said that he was bringing Saika along. You won't mind, right?"

"Of course I won't," Connor beamed, "Say, she's probably around six years old by now, right? I bet she looks even more adorable now."

Isaki smiled smugly, "Of course she looks adorable! She got her looks from her Dad, after all." He pumped a fist into his chest for emphasis.

"You douchebag." Connor smirked.

Isaki looked away and cracked his knuckles. His voice took on a jokingly ominous tone, "That's funny… I could have sworn somebody asked for a Falcon Punch…"

Connor sniggered and shifted his accent teasingly, "I sincerely apologize, but I have the rationale to deem that the lofty Isaki Tanaka's intuition has neglected his expectations for the very first time."

Isaki's fake expression ended up in a laugh. "For someone who went through military training, you can be such a kid sometimes, Connor."

"I'm not the one who listens to Nyan Cat," Connor countered.

"Touché."

A few minutes later, Connor noticed a certain someone from the window of an approaching bus. He turned Isaki's attention toward it, earning his friend another smile. It was Isaki's daughter, Saika, and sitting beside her was their good friend Theodore. The little girl had to raise her head a little just to get a view of the outside, and upon seeing her Dad, she waved happily. Saika was an adorable child, and, true to Isaki's earlier words, she really did look like a much smaller, female version of her Dad; though her hair was a much lighter shade of purple instead, tied into twin pigtails. Both Connor and Isaki waved back. Theodore noticed them too, and procured a grin, giving a mock salute.

The two friends stood up from their position on the bench, with Connor already heading for the closest bus stop. But before Isaki could take another step, the dissonance of screams filled his ears. Looking around, he saw the horrified faces of people all around him, along with Connor, staring up at the sky. Bringing his attention to whatever the crowd was staring at, he raised his head… and fell stunned when he saw innumerable numbers of meteoric shapes heading directly for Times Square.

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><p><em>Kyoto, Japan<em>

_Mato, Yomi and Yuu's school_

_1800 hours_

Screaming. Blood. Running. _Monsters._ These were some of the things that kept swirling around in Yuu's mind as she tried to evade every swing of a weapon, or a powerful hand reaching out to grab her. But the biggest question in her head right now was: "_WHAT_ _THE HELL IS GOING ON?" _It took a lot of her mental strength to just think about how this nightmare was possible. Hadn't the day gone on okay?

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><p><em>A few moments earlier…<em>

_The students had been able to just enjoy the whole event, though Mato appeared to have taken a tad bit too much sugar. The hyperactive girl openly declared a basketball match, to which most of them immediately turned down; Mato wasn't called an MVP for nothing. However, Yuu shared the sentiment. She accepted her friend's challenge, and it was off to the indoor basketball court for the both of them. The remaining students, finding that the atmosphere didn't seem to be as pleasant without their energetic bags of happiness around, decided to just follow the two goofballs into the court, with Yomi obviously going first._

_Here they were, with the girls cheering for Mato or Yuu as the two squared off against each other. Even with the obvious height disadvantage(they're like, the two shortest players in the basketball club), either girl made up for it with their dexterity and calculative movements. To an extent that their current bout, combined with the earlier sugar intake, was one of the most enjoyable one-on-one matches the audience had seen._

_Before Mato could land another perfect shot, the merriment of cheers was suddenly overwhelmed by the cacophony of horror-filled screams. Losing her focus, Mato accidentally sent the ball slamming into the board instead, letting it bounce away. The atmosphere tensed in an instant, with the students in the gymnasium staring at each other or muttering nervously as the sound of screams rang from outside._

_All of a sudden, intense explosions rocked the campus into chaos. The earth rumbled as the blasts roared with seismic force, making the lights flicker and the standing students wobble unsteadily. But the worst of it was yet to come. In an instant, the western wall of the gymnasium crashed away as a meteor struck into the building, burying the unlucky ones in a shower of debris, creating a colossal shockwave that sent unfortunate students flying. Others were luckier, able to grab on to support before the blast._

_When Yuu stirred, the first things she heard was the sound of her schoolmates sobbing in despair at the destruction, along with the continuous explosions, though these seemed more distant than the earlier ones. She heard Mato and Yomi calling her name and shaking her awake, and heard them sigh in relief when she opened her eyes, sitting up._

_That's when cries of surprise were heard. The three girls turned their attention towards the other students, seeing them back away from the large debris-filled crater that the crash had created. Something shifted from the crater, something that filled them with dread at its sight. A creature slowly rose, debris cascading down its body as it stretched its large arms. When the dust settled, the audience of frightened students gasped—it was a tall beast in a humanoid shape, thick, spiky large armor covering its body from head to toe. They could see that its skin was a ragged shade of blue, and the one thing they could see of its face under the cover of its helmet was a tooth-filled grin._

_The creature roared loudly, bellowing in a horrible voice. Several more not unlike the creature's own roared back in reply. More of the creatures crashed through the walls, most of them carrying crude weapons covered in fresh blood. Unlike the one that had landed in the gymnasium, these ones only wore armor that covered them from the waist down. They looked even more horrible without a helmet covering their hound-like facades. More kept coming until a dozen of the creatures filled the room, swinging their weapons around in sadistic glee._

_Most of the present students tried desperately to escape, but those who were unable to slip past the monsters only ended up being brutally mutilated. Yuu ended up separated from Mato and Yomi when one of the creatures charged at them, crushing a large section of the floor when the girls miraculously managed to evade the swing of its gigantic axe. By some stroke of luck, Mato and Yomi were able to get inside the storage room. Its front door was covered by a large slab of concrete, yet it also made a gap big enough for the two girls to get through, though fortunately, not enough for the pursuing creature. It slammed its weapon angrily at the slab, growling in primal fury._

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><p>Yuu wasn't so lucky. She couldn't reach her friends with one of those things blocking the way as it continued to try to break through the tough concrete. She ran and ran and ran, desperately searching for a means of safety or escape as the monsters picked off her schoolmates one by one.<p>

All of a sudden, an agonizing pain in her skull halted her in her tracks. She held her head in anguish, feeling as if her brain was going to explode from the inside. As soon as it appeared, the pain vanished, letting herself drop to the ground, disoriented.

But that small second was all it took for one of the creatures to capture her in its rock-hard grip. Its large hand snatched her by the neck, but instead of being crushed into a bloody mess, Yuu was momentarily surprised when it raised her to its eye level, letting her get a clear sight of its glowing red eyes. With the suffocation dulling her senses, she was shocked to realize that it actually was the fully-armored monster that had captured her. Its grin grew wider as it snarled, and actually _spoke_. That action surprised her even more. "It will all be over for you soon, humans," It mocked in its hideous voice, "We, the Demons of Hell, now claim your Earth as our own!" It cackled loudly, filling her very being with horror at its declaration.

It tightened its hold on Yuu even more, and the petite girl couldn't even bring a small gasp of air as her life was literally being squeezed out of her. Her hold on the demon's hand slackened, falling limply to her sides. That excruciating ache returned, but her fading strength wouldn't let her grip her skull as the agony seared through her head. She couldn't bring herself to scream as the oxygen failed to fill her lungs. Her eyes rolled back into her head as her face paled from the forceful halt of her blood, indicating her end.

The demon smiled wickedly at its handiwork; it obviously enjoyed seeing the little thing in his grip squirm desperately for air before seeing her die.

But before the demon could toss Yuu away, the light twitch of her finger caught its attention. Thinking that she was somehow still living, it though of just breaking her little neck—but that was when the supposedly dead girl suddenly brought her small hands to his arm. The demon's eyes widened as it felt her grasping his arm with impossible power, and her eyes glow in an unearthly white light. When the light vanished, it saw her eyes stare right back at his with intense, hungry bloodlust. The sight filled him with bewilderment, as her lips shifted into a feral grin and she spoke. "Payback time."

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><p><strong>AN: For those concerned, I apologize if I let this chapter take a lighthearted atmosphere before moving to an all-Hell-broke-loose scenario. Kinda wanted to speed things up a little~<strong>

**Once again, thanks for all who have been reading my fanfic! If you've got any comments, questions, or suggestions, don't hesitate telling me in the reviews. Critics and corrections will be well appreciated(no flamez pls~).**

'**Till next time, people. Later~! :D**


	7. Chapter 6: Power Incarnate

_Spear Penthouse, Infinity, San Francisco_

The world was in a state of a literal hell. Outside, several 'meteors' bombarded the city endlessly, buildings crumbled to the ground as they lost their supports, and people were screaming in horror as more and more demons descended from the heavens, murdering all in their wake. But from the view of her penthouse, a certain woman just watched calmly as the horrid scene unfolded upon the streets below, sitting casually on a luxurious piece of furniture.

The woman was an albino; yet strangely, she was an object of beauty. Just like any person with a condition like hers, her long hair was crystalline white, her porcelain skin was pale, and her eyes were a deep red. From the visible bulge that her stomach possessed, it didn't take an expert to tell that she was pregnant. She lovingly stroked her belly as her crimson eyes were fixated on the gruesome scene.

A sudden pain suddenly stung her head like a migraine. She brought a hand to her head in reflex, rubbing her forehead to try and ease the pain—which she knew was more than just a 'headache.' She relaxed herself and closed her eyes, setting her hand back down. A second later, she opened them again; this time her red eyes glowed with a soft magenta light.

Taking a glance at the carnage for a second, the albino woman raised her head at the ceiling and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, only starting to speak in a femininely malevolent voice that was not her own.

"_Since the dawn of time…"_ She began, _"The armies of Heaven and Hell have waged an endless war. Drawn to the conflict was the Charred Council, an entity bound by ancient laws to preserve order and balance."_

"_It held that any great power, unchecked, threatened the very fabric of the universe. In time, Heaven and Hell came to honor the Council and its laws, for none were beyond the swift and terrible justice of the Council's enforcers—" _The woman eased to let her expression procure a small grin as she continued, "_a fearsome brotherhood known as the Four Horsemen."_

"_Amid the turmoil, the first humans emerged. The Council foretold that these weak, but cunning creatures would someday be integral to the Balance. Thus, a third kingdom was named—the Kingdom of Man."_

"_By order of the Council, a truce was forged between Heaven and Hell. The great pact was bound by Seven Seals, to be broken at the appointed time—when Man's Kingdom stood ready for the Endwar," _she opened her eyes and set them once more upon the scene, her expression turning sinister. _"a battle that would bring balance, and determine the ultimate fate of the three kingdoms."_

Her reverie ended there. Sensing a presence, she turned her attention to the closed door, from which she could hear a knocking sound that she had expected. "Lily? Lily, are you there?" came a muffled, masculine voice from the other side. The concern and alarm was evident in how fidgety it was.

Instead of the inhuman voice that would have left her lips, the woman, presumably named Lily, spoke in what would be considered a 'normal' voice for herself: soft and sweet. "I'm alright, Wyler. There's nothing to worry about."

The door opened, revealing a bespectacled young man. The man, Wyler, had known his wife for years; yet even he had to question her sanity with life-threatening occasions. Just like the living hell outside, for example. "Lily, what are you talking about? It's literally raining hell outside!"

"No harm will come to me, or any other person in this building, as long as I remain here." Lily gave her husband a reassuring smile that absolutely didn't fit in with the current situation. "Count on it."

"Lily, this penthouse is a skyscraper! If we stay here any longer, one of those things could strike the building and bring it down!" Wyler argued nervously, "Now come on, there's a bunker I know that we could hide in. It'll provide enough safety until this mess is over."

"None have stricken the building so far; are you sure you want us to leave? The people here are fresh meat for the demons if we do so," Lily said innocently, "And this storm isn't ending any time soon, I fear."

"Lily, please. I can't risk you or our child's safety by staying here," Wyler held out his hand. "Now come on, while there's still a place to run for."

Lily just stared at the offered hand for a moment before she sighed. "If you insist." She carefully stood and headed for the door, taking her husband's hand in hers. She stopped one last time to glance back at the outside, before following Wyler into the hallway.

"_It appears the Endwar just came too early…"_

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><p>In the strange darkness one would have with closed eyes, Yuu felt confused. She felt strange; stranger than any other moment she had experienced in her youthful life. She couldn't shrug off the weird feeling that she needed to be somewhere to be somewhere, <em>anywhere<em> but wherever she was right now; This was paired with the odd sensation she felt in every joint and muscle, as if thousands of tiny, minuscule parasites were wriggling around her being, tingling every inch.

Groggily, she slowly opened her eyes to find… nothing. Did she become blind, or something? Trying to keep her cool for a bit, she looked down and brought her hands to her face, which—what the heck? How could she see her hands if she couldn't see anything else? Taking frantic glances at her body, she found that she could indeed see herself perfectly, wearing her red tracksuit, though she had a white shirt on instead of its jacket. She took a few steps forward, finding that she was somehow standing on solid ground in this all-encompassing darkness.

Was she dead? If she were, then did this mean that the deceased were damned to wander forever in nothingness? Was this what Asphodel was like? Before she could take another step, a voice called out to her, the sound coming from all around.

"STOP!" Yuu immediately halted in her steps, standing straight up as if it were an army sergeant that had commanded her. She grew increasingly confused for a moment before the voice spoke again. "Sorry, kid. Tch, forgot to turn on the lights…"

After the voice had said those words, the sight of a sunset-orange sky filled Yuu's vision. Looking around, she spotted numerous rock formations jutting out here and there from what appeared to be a vast body of water. Looking downward, she immediately stumbled back when she found that she had almost fallen off one of the pillars of rock; the sound of a powerful current beating against it made her wonder horribly about what could have happened if the voice had not stopped her.

She gawkily stared at the edge for a few minutes in a mix of horror and mild relief before the same voice spoke again. This time however, it was directly behind her. "Hey, chill out. What just happened wasn't so freaky, if you ask me."

Though still a bit unsettled, Yuu's annoyance perked up. "How the heck can you say that when I almost just dropped down to my certain death, you little—" She turned her head to glare at the perpetrator, but her irritated expression turned into a gawk when she had her first look at their appearance.

The person looked _exactly _like Yuu. But there were a few noticeable differences: her hair was white, and her skin was a little more tan. She wore a hooded black vest that looked like it was a bit too big on her, its open collar high enough to cover her lips, and her crossed arms were fitted with long black gloves that reached up before the elbow. Her legs were covered with thigh-high black stockings, and heavy, circular metal weights ringed both her ankles like chainless shackles. Yuu noticed a weird noise that sounded like the cracking of knuckles, and her eyes widened when she saw a vertebra-like tail wagging casually behind the girl.

"Little?" The Yuu-lookalike scoffed, "Ha! So says the shortest member of her club. And just to let you know: we're pretty much the same height."

"What in the…" Yuu stuttered, "Who the heck're you?"

"Name's Strength." She answered, giving a salute and a none-too-visible smile under her collar, "And could you please get up? You're making this a little awkward."

"Strength?" Yuu shakily stood and backed away a little, "What kind of name is that?"

"One I'm proud of," Strength answered, "I never fancied nicknames, titles, or whatever, unlike most people. You could say that it's what I stand for."

Yuu snorted. "Wait, _you_, Strength? You barely look like you would last against a punching bag!"

Strength's hazel eyes narrowed as she annoyingly answered, "Just to remind you: we look _alike_. So basically, you're saying that you _also_ look like a sissy. And…" She raised her right hand in the air, clenching her fist. "…how's this for show?" In a flash, she punched the ground with tectonic force, large cracks breaking the rock pillar they were standing on into pieces. Yuu screamed hysterically as she fell through the air, but suddenly, Strength caught her in mid-air, and she jumped for the nearest rock pillar and scaled to its top in a few moments, setting the frantic girl down when they got there. Quite an amazing feat, seeing as she just ran up the thing with just her legs while she was carrying Yuu.

Expecting a frantic 'thank you,' Strength was caught off guard when Yuu suddenly stood to whack her upside the head. "YOU ASSHOLE!" As you can see, she couldn't control her language while still in a state of panic. "YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME WITH THAT!"

"Ow! You ungrateful bitch, I just saved your life!" Neither could Strength, it seemed. "Besides, you totally deserved it."

"A little fun isn't worth trying to kill me!"

"Calm the hell down!" Strength yelled, "Come one, I'm just like you! You'd do the same too if you were in my shoes!"

"WHAT? I'm not a smug prick who tries killing people just to show off!"

"At least I'm not a hypocrite like you!"

"I'm not a hypocrite, you cocky midget!"

"You're one too!"

The two continued to bicker like kids, with the rushing water far below already helping in settling the dust left behind by the ruined pillar. Hopefully, Strength would not forget why she decided to show up to Yuu in the first place…

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><p>Connor woke up to the odd feeling of being shaken. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was draped over Isaki's shoulder, with the latter running as fast as he could with the weight. Connor just had to wonder where his friend got his strength from. "Dude, put me down," Connor muttered weakly.<p>

Without saying a word, Isaki quickly came to a halt and set his friend standing. Before Connor could even orient himself, Isaki ran off already. It took the blonde a few more seconds to remember what had happened: meteors had struck time square, the shockwave rendering him unconscious earlier. The answer to why Isaki was in a hurry also dawned on him: Saika and Theodore were still in that bus!

He snapped his head up and took frightened glances at the ruin that Times Square had become in a few moments. Several automobiles were crushed, upturned, or beeping loudly. Buildings had large blasted holes, and the highway was a mess of concrete, craters, cars, and corpses.

He noticed Isaki already at a considerable distance, and he struggled to catch up. A distance away, he came across a particularly gigantic crater in the highway, with people were staring down at it fearfully. Suddenly, the piled concrete below the spectators shifted, causing others to yelp in surprise. From the debris, a tremendous beast rose from the ground, with a man covered in golden armor caught in the grasp of its titanic arms.

The sight filled them with awe and horror; the armor on the man was like nothing the crowd had ever seen, and to add to his glorious appearance were two armored white wings glowing in a gentle blue light. The beast however, was a hideous sight: it was intensely muscular that it looked like it could crush rocks in its large clawed hands. Its skin was tan-orange, its legs were covered in heavy iron armor, and two large black stumps on its back indicated where majestic wings used to be. What shocked the crowd even more was that the beast had a necklace of human skulls attached to chains on its large neck.

The golden man weakly raised a hand toward the beast, only falling limp when it tightened its grip, crushing the life out of him. Turning to face the crowd, the beast tossed what remained of the golden man away and let out a glass-shattering roar, causing the crowd to flee in panic.

Several smaller meteors struck the surrounding area, and almost immediately, hideous beasts crawled out of the craters they made, pouncing on unlucky victims. Though tiny compared to the hulking monstrosity, these beasts were just as large as a man, with gangly limbs and eyeless reptilian faces.

Unfortunately for Connor, one of them set him on its sights and gave chase. He ran as fast as his legs could take him, occasionally risking a glance back to see the beast still in pursuit. Up ahead, he spotted a pistol hanging limply from the dead hands of a policeman. Seeing his chance, he quickly sprinted for the weapon as fast as he could, pouncing for it when it came into reaching distance—just as the pursuing beast pounced on him as well.

Connor's trained reflexes had managed to help him grab the pistol just in time. Landing head over heels along with the creature, he aimed the gun just in time to see the beast's jaws close in on him. The gun fired at point-blank range, lodging a bullet directly into the beast's skull.

Connor grunted as he lifted the beast's corpse off of him, somewhat drained after the near-death experience. He quickly got up from the ground, finding that most of the other beasts were too occupied in ripping apart other people in the vicinity to notice that one of their number had been killed.

He directed himself toward the direction Isaki had gone; his eyes widened in shock when he saw a blast of flame where the bus used to be, accompanied with the sound of his friend's despairing cry.

* * *

><p>Yuu and Strength had managed to just shut up some time earlier. The two were facing away from each other, with the former sitting cross-legged on the ground and the latter gazing mindlessly into the distance. The sound of the soft wind, the rushing water and Strength's wagging tail were the only sounds breaking the tensely awkward silence.<p>

Strength had been silently contemplating about what she could do about the situation. Would she apologize, or just threaten the kid into submission? The former would be probably ruin her pride; yet she also knew that doing the latter wouldn't make the situation between her and her human counterpart any better.

Unknown to her, Yuu had also been thinking about similar things: should she make up with this weird 'evil twin' person and get answers about what the hell happened to her, or just argue until she gives up, making things hit rock bottom? Considering where she was, she was probably gonna be the one _literally_ hitting rock bottom.

Their inner contemplations were broken when the sound of crumbling filled their ears. Looking around, the two laid their eyes on one of the rock pillars in the distance falling apart. Yuu just stared at it with a bit of astonishment, but Strength's expression paled in dread; she knew what was going to happen soon.

Strength immediately turned to face Yuu. The human girl had noticed her lookalike, her face scrunching up in annoyance, turning into confusion when she saw the serious look in her eyes. "Yuu," Strength started, "I'm going to have to explain a few things, and I'm gonna need you to listen well, coz I won't be saying it twice."

"Oh gee, you're so scary-looking when you're serious, I just pissed myself," Yuu remarked sarcastically.

Strength ignored it. "As I forgot to explain earlier," she held out her arm towards the land, indicating the whole space, "This place doesn't exist in reality. It's just something born to symbolize something, or rather, someone else. This place," she faced Yuu again, her hazel gaze focused on the girl, "exists only inside you as a part of your mind and soul. I, Strength, am what this place stands for. The currents flow with the power of a riptide, yet the pillars stand tall and strong as if the tide were just a simple breeze."

Yuu just raised a brow. She was inwardly laughing at how her lookalike used the word 'tall.' Ha.

Another rock pillar in the distance crumbled downwards to the waters below. Strength knew she would have to wrap things up quick, or else. "Yuu, I've been existing far longer than you can imagine. For countless millennia, I've been moving from one body to another across history itself, just waiting for the day I would once again reveal myself to reality…" she pointed at Yuu, "And you, Yuu Koutari, are going to be the person to help me do just that."

"What?" Yuu said, somewhat surprised and confused, "Wait, wait, so you're saying that this place is actually all in my head, and now you, who happens to be living here, are gonna use me to like, go to the real world or something?" she scratched her head, puzzled, "But if it's all in my head, why didn't you just let me fall into the water? I could have just woken up and saved myself the trouble."

"This place is more significant than you think," Strength explained, "If I just let you die in your subconscious, that would be tantamount to letting you die in reality; if you would believe you were dead here, it would directly cut off your soul from your physical body—in effect, leaving me off to find another suitable host, which I doubt I would find…" Another pillar collapsed into rubble. Strength pointed at the pillar. "Sorry to say this… but those things falling apart means you're dying fast."

Yuu's eyes widened. "W-What? Are you just messing with me?"

Strength regretted saying that. As the truth of the situation dawned upon Yuu, the pillars began to cave in at a much faster rate. Yuu kept shifting her attention towards the spreading destruction around her. From the rate and direction it was going, the pillar they were on would be the last to fall; which could mean the last second Yuu would ever stay alive.

A hand held her shoulder and settled her down. "I have a proposal to make, Yuu. And I have to make sure that you would be certain about your decision." Strength's voice was soft and firm. Yuu turned to face her, seeing strong resolve in the hazel eyes that looked just like her own. "Listen well. You cannot remember what had happened before I brought you here because I made sure you would forget. I wanted your mind to be free of fear, so you would calmly think about what I'm going to say… but I guess it's too late for that."

Strength held Yuu's face in her hands; she had to get this girl to understand. "Your friends are in danger, and you would be in the cold hands of death at any moment. So, I'm going to give you two choices: become one with me, and earn a chance to fight, or refuse my offer, and leave yourself, and your friends, for dead."

Yuu remembered. All the carnage, all the deaths, all the panic; the moment she found herself in the grip of a monster who wouldn't hesitate ending her life; but most importantly, her friends—all but a slab away from certain slaughter.

Her wordless decision reached Strength. The next moment, she could feel Strength's very essence flowing into her being. Countless memories that were not her own filled her psyche, countless experiences, countless friendships, countless heartaches, as the innumerable recollections of all who had harbored the very embodiment of power became hers. She could feel herself growing stronger, far stronger than she had ever felt as she became one with Strength, their separate selves now merging into a single, unified form.

It was all over in a moment.

* * *

><p>Yuu opened her eyes. Her senses felt numb and unresponsive for a moment before they slowly adjusted themselves properly.<p>

Her hearing set itself. There was nothing, save for the sound of labored breathing and a tiny dripping noise. She could sense the pungent smell of flames and death in the air; she could savor a strange and unpleasant coppery tang in her mouth. Her body felt soaked in a warm substance, and she could feel her right hand holding on to something that seemed just as wet. It felt… squishy.

Finally, sight. When her vision finally returned, she was confused. Her remaining schoolmates were watching her from a distance, utter shock plastered on their blood-stained faces. Yuu spotted corpses—first, the ones of her fellow students, lying here and there on the ground. Second, numbers of large dismembered bodies, others mutilated beyond recognition, with entrails and blood covering the surrounding floor in a gruesome bloodbath.

Surely, whatever could have caused this butchery had shown no mercy.

Yuu remembered the frightened stares her schoolmates had given here. Looking around, she saw that what was left of them were indeed giving her stunned looks… Then she remembered she was still holding on to something. Slowly bringing her attention to the object in her hand, the answer to what had caused the carnage around her dawned.

In her grasp, with her fingers clutching it from the eye sockets, was the decapitated head of a demon.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Maybe I shouldn't play violent video games too much…<strong>

**Oh well, I just kinda thought that I should give Sing Love some sort of name and background of sorts, since I don't know much about the game… I thought that 'Sing Love' sounded more like a stage name than an actual name. As for why I just gave her the name 'Lily,' I'll just save that for another time~ ;D**

**As I forgot to mention in the last chapter: this fanfiction has elements of a cross-over. It will include cameo appearances or references from other games or anime, but will mainly follow the BRS OVA and Game's story so I'll make sure no one gets a wee bit confused.**

**Peace~ :D**

**p.s. There's a sketch I made some time ago about what I thought Chapter 5 would look like. You can check it out on my DA page, Men-don't-scream. :3**


	8. Chapter 7: Strages

**The first two sections of this chapter will be about what was actually going on in the physical world from Strength's perspective, as Yuu in her own subconscious gains her Otherworld counterpart's power.**

**I kinda thought it sounded good so I just didn't let this pass~ :D**

**Warning: Blood, gore, & violence**

* * *

><p><em>It was Strength's first attempt at ever actually becoming one with a physical host. Knowing that her human counterpart would just be able to see her own memories as Strength, she made the offer without too much of an explanation. <em>

_This was the 'fighting chance' that Strength had offered: becoming one with a host as capable and compatible like Yuu would grant Strength a short moment of invincibility and control—but that short moment would be all she was going to need._

"Payback time."

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><p>From the view of the gymnasium's storage room, the angry sound of a demon trying to break a bigger way in towards Mato and Yomi didn't seem to register itself into the girls' ears. All they could see was Yuu, their friend desperately trying to free herself from the demon's hold on her fragile neck.<p>

Yomi was anxiously holding on to Mato; she knew that on a whim, her friend might just rush in for a futile attempt at saving Yuu, and would only get herself killed. Mato kept squirming against Yomi's hold, but the taller girl would only clutch her tighter. Feeling utter defeat, Mato eventually succumbed to the horror and fell on her knees, bringing Yomi with her. She desperately returned Yomi's embrace, tearfully muttering the hopeless thought that seemed to reverberate within the minds of everyone present left alive.

"We're all going to die like this, aren't we?"

A certain being, however, would have none of that. A scream of pain echoed throughout the gymnasium, almost silencing the entire area into confusion. It wasn't because of how loud it was—it was because of where the scream came from.

Almost everyone's attention was directed at the source. There, on one knee, was the armored demon, clutching painfully at the bloody stump that used to be his right arm; and standing from a few feet away was the one who tore it off. Yuu was there, still holding the dismembered limb with a sinister smile on her face.

The armored demon staggered back a few steps before stumbling, landing painfully on his back. He continued to scream profanities from the searing pain before he directed his attention towards the other demons in the area, then at the little girl that had, by all means, done what was supposed to be impossible for a human. "KILL HER!"

For a second, no one took action; until the armored demon's eyes widened in shock when Yuu was already in front of him, drawing the limb back—then striking the demon's face with bone-shattering force, sending him flying at least ten feet away. She threw the severed appendage straight at the demon as he tried to get up, knocking him down.

The demons took that as their cue. One of them charged at Yuu with his axe raised, ready to smash the girl into pieces if needed… but she simply raised her left arm to block, destroying the blade when the demon swung against it. With her right, she punched the demon right in the gut; but instead of getting blown away as expected, Yuu's arm stabbed right through, grabbing the demon's spine, tearing it off in a single yank.

Falling to the ground, the demon inhaled sharply, vomiting blood from the attack. He raised his head just in time to see Yuu's foot make contact, crushing his skull in a single stomp. The girl then brought her attention towards the other demons in the area. "So, who's next?"

The demons roared, rushing towards her with their weapons ready. "For such ugly bastards, you sure know how to make a girl happy!" Yuu simply spread her arms invitingly. "COME AND GET IT!"

She dashed forward, ready to meet the demons head on with nothing but her bare, blood-stained hands. She jumped straight up for the closest demon, bringing her fingers forward to jab them at the demon's eyes. Using the position as leverage, she brought her body upwards and over the demon, ripping off his head along with his spine. "Three down, nine more to go!"

Using the spine as a makeshift whip, she struck another demon right in the face, making him drop the axe he was carrying. Discarding the spine, she lunged for the axe and in a single swing, sliced the distracted demon from the waist up to the shoulder in a clean, slanted strike. She flung the axe away, making it spin in the air in a deadly circle, before it found itself lodged in a demon's ribs.

Seven more!

As fast as its huge arms could take, another demon raised his axe and brought it down on Yuu, but the girl simply caught the weapon and yanked it from his hold. She swung the axe upwards, hitting the demon's chin, raising the demon along with the axe in an arc, splitting the demon's skull in half when she brought it down.

Another demon rushed straight for her. Yuu just met him head on, pouncing on him and ripping his skull in half. She jerked both halves of the head from what little flesh was still holding it, and brought them in her hands like twin daggers, the demon's horns pointing downwards. She jumped for another demon, tearing off his throat with the half in her right, whirling around and stabbing him in the back of the head with it. Another demon that tried to attack ended up with the other half stabbing through his heart.

Thinking that losing both makeshift weapons gave him an advantage, a demon swung his club sidewards, only to miss when Yuu slid through between his legs. With the club's weight, he couldn't bring it upwards, the heavy weapon instead bringing him twirling. Yuu broke the demon's knees from behind in twin punches, raising herself in a swing to smash the demon's skull with her bare fist on the ground.

The two remaining demons were already shaking in horror. Discarding their weapons, both of them ran for the nearest possible exit, but the other instantly halted in his tracks when a flying axe found its way into his skull. "You ain't going anywhere!" Yuu shouted. Without turning back, the remaining demon kept running as fast as he could, only to scream in anguish when Yuu managed to pounce on him, digging her hands into the back of his neck before ripping out his throat from behind.

For a few moments, there was silence. Yuu was breathing heavily from the carnage she had caused. Strength, from within, knew that her friends had seen everything and would now have a good reason to fear Yuu; but she felt that as long as she was able to keep Mato and Yomi safe, It was worth it. It would take time, but she knew that Yuu would forgive her for it, and technically, herself as well. She could feel the unification between her and Yuu nearing its completion; it was going to be over soon.

The sound of a grunt reached her, smirking when she saw that the armored demon was still alive. Well, if this was going to be the last moment she was going to be in control, might as well make it a good one.

She approached the demon, simply trotting towards him as if he was nothing to be feared. Seeing the mess of corpses his troops had been reduced to, the demon's jaw gaped and he snarled. "You… you've killed my warriors, you little pest!"

Yuu just looked around her, as if looking for something. She turned to face the remaining demon and tilted her head. "Warriors? What warriors? All I see is cannon fodder."

The demon growled angrily, "You dare insult us, human vermin? You will soon come to regret this insolence! We Phantom Guard will not take the deaths of several our number lightly!"

"Tch, whatever. If you guys weren't as easy to tear apart as wet paper, I guess things woulda been more interesting."

The demon was about to bark another retort when he noticed something odd. Blood seemed to gather themselves like wisps as they slowly gathered, covering Yuu's arms; the blood seemed to be drying very fast, covering her arms in what appeared to be black gloves. The demon's eyes widened—taking a careful look at her stance and figure, along with the gathering blood… his expression paled in dread.

"You… no… this can't be!" The demon cried, "This can't be! You're dead! YOU'RE ALL DEAD! P-Please, spare me! I'll do anything! PLEASE, JUST SPARE ME!"

Yuu frowned. "Ugh, pathetic. You talk all high and mighty, now you're crying like a little bitch." She approached the demon, squatting on her toes as she looked into his fearful eyes. "Tell me, Phantom General… when you came here, did you ever consider sparing a single human? Did you ever think about going out of your way to help even a single one? Did you show mercy when you killed these human children?"

The demon was silent.

"Heh, why am I even asking you? The answer's pretty obvious." She stood up and walked away. The demon exhaled in relief. "Of course not." Yuu turned to face him. "Of course not. You deserve nothing more than the same deaths you brought upon these helpless children."

The demon gasped in shock; he knew his end was close. Yuu smirked, "Say, since you've obviously been a bad, bad demon for most of your life, how about you do a favor for me?" She drew her arm back. "Since you're going down to Hell to meet up with your own worthless kin, how about you give all the other demons down there a message from yours truly?" She could feel the union between her and Yuu at its peak. It's now or never. "Tell them…"

Time seemed to slow down. As Yuu's arm punched forward for the demon, her now glove-covered arm glowed, and several gears and bits of machinery materialized themselves out of nowhere, covering her arm in the great weapon that the demon feared would end his life. The last part shifted and clicked into place, and Yuu's arm was already encased in a massive arm thrice her size, its large, open palm reaching for the demon. The titanic gauntlet, known and feared among demonkind as the dreaded Ogre Arm, slammed itself into the demon, pinning him down. The hand was large enough to grasp the large demon's whole torso.

"…Strength is back."

Yuu only squeezed once, and all that was left of demon she knew as a Phantom General was a bloody mess of limbs and flesh.

* * *

><p><em>Presbyterian Psychiatric Hospital, New York<em>

The chaos of the demons continued to ensue from the outside. Doctors and several other hospital personnel struggled to keep their patient strapped down, even going as far as to instill tranquilizers and morphine into the subject's body; yet the little girl in their supervision demonstrated great strength that would never have been possible, the calming drugs having no effect on her despite the dangerous dosage.

The girl's wavy, waist-length, caramel-blonde hair was a disheveled mess; her hospital gown had already gained too many tears from how she was struggling against the staff. She kept growling insanely, yelling out words that, for all present, didn't make any sense. "MOMMY'S COMING! MOMMY'S COMING FOR YOU ALL!"

A term that would accurately describe Kagari Izuhira's mental state was, technically speaking, batshit crazy.

Other people in the room included additional hospital staff, a few guards, and Kagari's parents. They all watched with bewilderment as the usually calm psychopath screamed and writhed. Kagari's mother, a tall woman who shared the same amber eyes and hair as her daughter, was being held back by her husband as she desperately tried to reach out for Kagari. "Kagari, please! What are you talking about? I'm right here! Your mother's right here!"

The people were shocked when Kagari's eyes suddenly glowed in a golden light, the girl falling limp for a moment. Thinking that the girl had somehow fallen unconscious, they eased their hold—quite a big mistake.

Kagari suddenly kicked the doctor in front of her, sending him flying towards the facing wall. The painful sound of breaking bones was audible when the doctor crashed against it, leaving a large crack and a splatter of blood. The one holding her arm was flung outwards, his body smashing through the nearby glass window, falling to his death stories below. Kagari grabbed a nearby nurse and brought her elbow down on her skull, flinging her away at a guard, sending him tumbling. She snapped her sadistic gaze towards her own parents, and just before she was about to spring towards them, a bullet was blasted right into her skull, knocking her away like a rag doll. Kagari's mother screamed, her husband too shocked to even react. The guard was still pointing the smoking barrel of the gun directly at Kagari, shivering in fear.

Suddenly, her body twitched. Surprised, the guard fired repeatedly, emptying the gun of its ammo. The bullets met her skin, blasting more holes into her. Everyone left was shocked when Kagari brought herself up with her arms; she turned her attention towards the guard, who fell flat on his butt when he saw the ferociousness in that amber gaze.

Kagari leaped towards him like a crazed animal, smashing his skull as she punched his face repeatedly. "I'M JUST BEING A GOOD GIRL!" The guard's face was crushed beyond recognition, but Kagari still kept punching . "IF MOMMY SEES YOU, SHE'S GOING TO MAKE YOU SUFFER!" Kagari's powerful fists were already leaving cracks in the floor. "JUST LET ME KILL YOU SO YOU WON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH HER!"

She continued to murder every single person in the room, the bullets being fired by the guards having no effect on her, her flesh regenerating almost instantly. She killed them one by one with utmost brutality, even killing her own father when he tried to protect his wife. Everyone else was not spared.

Kagari's mother was the only one left. She was on her knees, gazing fearfully at the monster that her daughter had become. But unlike everyone else in the room, Kagari only smiled at her; she approached her slowly, kneeling down to give her an embrace. Her mother didn't return it. "K-Kagari… why? What's happening? Why did you kill your own father? What's happening to you, Kagari?"

Kagari caressed her mother's hair with her bloodied hand, staining it. "They didn't understand. If Mommy saw them while they were doing that to me, she would make them suffer. I just made sure they wouldn't have to experience that." She held her mother's face, looking into her eyes. "But you're good. Maybe Mommy isn't going to kill you, so I let you be."

Kagari's mother choked. "Kagari, what are you talking about? I'm your mother!"

Kagari frowned. "No, you're not." Her hands gripped her mother's head fiercely. She brought her lips to her mother's ear, and whispered. "You never were." Kagari twisted her mother's neck so ferociously that her head was ripped right off.

She gazed into her mother's dead eyes for a while before tossing the head away. "That's too bad. I would have told Mommy to let you live, but you were just too noisy."

An explosion was heard nearby. From the closed door, Kagari could hear the sounds of screaming and pleas for mercy. Standing up, she walked towards the door and grabbed the knob, opening it just in time to see a dismembered arm fly by. She stepped out of the door and into the hallway, seeing three shapes step out of the dust cloud before her.

"Grief."

The girl up front was dressed in a torn blouse with a short skirt, including a black hoodie. Her short, messy hair was a deep wine-purple color, and in them were two short vertebra-like horns.

"Misery."

The second girl had pinkish-white shoulder-length hair; her own horns, which were not unlike the former's own, lay on her head like a makeshift headband. She wore a leather jacket along with faded blue jeans.

"Pain."

The third girl's hair was reddish-brown and held in two pigtails; her short horns pointed upwards just like the first girl's. She wore a red shirt and black jeans adorned with a chain by the belt.

Grief held out her hands towards Kagari, and the blonde girl eagerly jumped for her, hugging her tightly. The other two joined in, one of them chuckling at Kagari.

"It's good to see you too, Anguish," said the third.

The second girl, Misery, laughed heartedly, "It's been so long! I'm so glad we're all together again!"

Kagari raised her head from hugging her reunited brethren to look at Misery, "Not everyone," she smiled sadly, "Sorrow's not with us yet. But, I think we wouldn't have to worry about that too much."

"Why is that?" Grief asked.

Kagari laughed, "I know the girl that Sorrow is using as a host. She was a good friend of my own host, but she left a few years ago…"

"Anguish, what's her name?" Pain eagerly asked.

Kagari grinned. "Yomi."

"I see," Grief smiled, facing her brethren, "Now let us take our leave, dear sisters. Mother waits for us."

* * *

><p>Little Saika was puzzled; how was the man with white hair able to save her and her Uncle Teddy from a big explosion? She had already learned enough from her Dad to know that they were dangerous, so she was definitely confused by what had recently happened: that man had protected both of them with his blue flames.<p>

Also, she noticed that the blue flames from the gold man were just like the ones used by the white-haired man. Did this mean they knew each other? Were they just like those people in the circus her Dad had once taken her too? But those people were just using regular fire; did fire come in different colors? Could the white-haired man and the winged golden man breathe fire?

However, it turned out the white-haired man had not been able to notice something that she had; a big man in red had killed that bad monster who had killed that winged man in a gold outfit. It was a somewhat amazing sight: after the big man had killed those smaller monsters that tried to eat him too, that big orange-ish monster jumped towards him, about to crush him in its huge claws, but the man just dashed sideways and evaded the attack. The big monster ended up with his claws caught in the ground; taking his chance, the big man sliced off both of the monster's arms with two slashes of his big sword, then jumping on top of it and breaking its neck.

Saika paled; not because of the kill, but because she thought she actually risked hurting her Dad every time she rode on his shoulders. She wondered if Daddy had a much better neck than the monster...

Random thoughts and questions kept surfacing around in her young head as Saika ran through an alley, keeping the man in red on her sights. She knew that she should have stayed with her Uncle and the white-haired man, but her childish curiosity had taken the better of her.

* * *

><p>"You're not an ordinary human, am I right?"<p>

Isaki stood face to face with a man with an unusual mob of silvery-white hair. After what he had seen the man do, he sure had a good reason to be at least freaked out by his question.

All four men, with Theodore's arm draped over Connor's shoulder, were standing inside a secluded alley as the sounds of battle echoed all around. Earlier, both Isaki and Connor had been devastated when they believed that Theodore and Saika were long gone, trapped in an inescapable inferno. However, Connor's worry disappeared when Isaki had somehow 'sensed' that his daughter and their friend were safe. They were somewhat disappointed and aggravated when they had found the man with an unconscious Theodore, explaining that the child had ran off.

Isaki sure resisted the urge to punch the guy's face in, but he knew he should be grateful; even if he was unable to keep Saika in his watch, he had saved his daughter, after all.

Deciding that they had rested enough, the four ran through the maze of alleys between buildings, with Isaki and the white-haired man taking the lead.

"Care to introduce yourself?" Isaki asked as he ran.

"Mephistopheles," the man replied, "Well, how about you? Care to answer my question?"

"What are you two talking about?" Connor panted, supporting Theodore as they caught up with the two, "Come on, Isaki's a pretty simple dude! Sure, he's got purple hair and can be a bit of a douche, but other than that, he's just your typical person! Oh, and can I call you Meph instead? Your name's too much of a mouthful."

He faced Isaki and asked, "Aren't you offended?"

"Me? Nah," Isaki answered, "That's just Connor for you. I sure missed hearing 'em, though."

"Shouldn't you be more concerned about Saika?" Theodore panted, "And how do you two even know where she is right now? Do you even know where you're going?"

Mephistopheles raised a brow and asked Isaki, "So your best friends don't know too much about you as they think, huh?"

_What?_

The four stopped when Isaki gestured for them to keep down. Leaning on the wall for cover, they spotted a large draconian beast grappling with the lance of a man in gold armor on the highway. The blue flames on the man's armored wings flared fiercely, providing enough thrust for him to pull his lance from the dragon's hold, stabbing it into the beast's throat and pushing it back.

Connor's thoughts weren't on the fight. "Wait, what? Isaki, is this Mephie guy for real? I think he's suggesting that you've been keeping something from us."

Both Connor and Theodore stared at their friend, hoping for some sort of denial or a response—they didn't get either.

"Aw, shit."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Iz a sick, sadistic purson~<strong>

**Oh well~ Strength has finally risen to physical being, Kagari-tan went apeshit, Dragon Slayer's loli trio makes an appearance, Isaki-kun is a vague weirdo, and the dude from the prologue shows himself.**

**Yay, I updated early~! :D**

**I guess I'll take a few days off from writing~ I wanna draw those skeleton dudes from BRS' 4****th**** episode and some other stuff. They look sooo kewl~ x3**

**p.s. Does anyone else think that Kagari looks heckuvalot like Taiga?**


	9. Chapter 8: Setting Off

**I apologize again for another late chapter. I don't have anything to say in my defense this time, though. I was just being lazy~ xD;**

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><p>The Realm of Shadows was a dimension that existed everywhere and nowhere.<p>

This was a world that resembled reality; a place that possessed each and every miniscule detail of the world, and yet it possessed a few things that made one certain it was a different realm in itself: it was entirely void of life. Not a single being, not a single shrub, not even a single soul can thrive in this mirror of reality without succumbing to the all-encompassing aura of darkness that made up its very existence.

Unless, of course, one is a being tainted with the very essence of darkness. Let's say… beings with far greater sins than the Devil himself.

Or, would it be more appropriate to say… the very embodiments of sin? That's right, embodiments of sin—beings that personify the most deceitful and wicked concepts on this temporal earth.

But if one were to think about the current situation within a secluded chamber in this realm… to think, that not one, not two, but fifteen of these beings were gathered together… can you imagine what could happen?

"What reason do you have for gathering us here? We could be upon the Earth, unleashing destruction as we speak! Those pitiful humans won't stand a sliver of a chance against us." Said a rather brawny voice. With only a faint glimmer of light illuminating the chamber, all that could be seen of these beings were mere silhouettes. But this one was rather noticeable from the rest—he stood several feet taller than everyone else, and the near-indistinguishable features still made it clear that he was intensely muscular.

"Yeah, he's right!" said another, her voice rather squeaky and childlike, "There's so much to see and ruin in the human world! Can't we get this over with like, right now?" From her shape, what distinguished her from the rest is that she was the shortest among them.

"Maybe you could just quit being a thousand-year-old baby and shut the hell up," came a feminine voice.

"Hey, hey, don't be such a bully! I was even planning on making stuff for you all when we get there!"

"You people are starting to piss me off."

"Can't we get along for once?"

"Go fuck yourselves."

"I will have none of this," The source of the femininely malevolent voice was the being in the center of the group. Following her words was slam that sounded a lot like stone hitting stone. It sure served its intent; everyone in the room fell silent, with only a tense atmosphere left to indicate the earlier quarrel.

"Concerning the brusque one's earlier statement…" A rather firm and sagely voice spoke up, breaking the tense silence. Some noticed that this one hadn't participated in the aforementioned argument. "What do you plan on having us gathered? There's more to a gathering of our kind than just foul language, I'm sure."

The woman earlier was silent before replying, "It's quite simple, actually. I just want to make a proposal."

"And what would this be?"

"That we do the things we always have for a while longer," Unseen by the rest, her lips formed a sinister smile. "Just for a few hours, in fact. After this, I will leave you all to your own devices—unless I would seek your company once again."

"Be more specific, woman. Can't you explain things any further?"

"I was getting to that. You see, my brethren, a certain being now goes on, confused by the recent turn of events just as much as you all. He believes that everything is just in order, but I assure you that everything will go downhill for him from this point onwards. I had… a hand in all this."

Another unfamiliar, feminine voice spoke. "And what, pray tell, would we gain if we were to satisfy your expectations?"

"This is a plan to claim what should have been ours from the beginning. It's simple… we let the sure victor of this war seize the world of Man for their keeping… _then_ we take it as our own."

* * *

><p>Although the other twelve beings had already left to carry out their own individual tasks in the upcoming battle, the woman who had made the earlier proposal had asked two of the beings to remain. Still somewhat indistinguishable, one was a tall man who had what appeared to be a mane of long hair; the other was a woman what appeared to be a small spiky tiara on her head. It looked like they were just a ring of spikes on her head in the darkness.<p>

"Are you certain you would have them cooperating?" The man asked the unknown woman.

"Your concern is unnecessary, Genocide," The woman answered, "I am sure they will manage. The ultimate trophy which is the earth itself is too good to pass up on, of course."

"But why seek my audience, along with the Broodmother? Surely you have something in mind." The man, presumably called Genocide, asked.

"Of course I do. We need someone to be sovereign over them, brother. As you have seen earlier, despite being around for thousands of years, they still bicker like children."

The other woman laughed, "Oh, but isn't it quite enjoyable to watch? It's like watching a dysfunctional family fight for the hell of it, yet it would always be possible for its members to be together."

"That's correct. Now," The unseen woman directed her attention to Genocide, "How about we bring them all together? There's strength in numbers; and you know that a single one of us can decimate a legion of lesser demons without breaking a sweat. Once combined, we would be invulnerable."

"And you told me all this because of what reason?" Genocide asked.

"Because as I said earlier, we would need someone to lead them; and I believe you would be suitable for the task."

"Me? Are you mad?" he scoffed, "You know relationships among our kind have never been pleasant ever since we were trapped in the Otherworld."

"I know," the woman replied, "That is why I need someone powerful to keep them in check—give them the praised they deserve if a job is done right, or give them the proper penalty should one ever dare to fail."

"As for a name…" the woman continued, "The title of 'Apostles' has a certain ring to it, don't you think?"

* * *

><p>Genocide had already left to ponder upon the offer. He didn't need to directly participate in the ensuing chaos in the outside world; even if he just stayed where he was, wasn't the essence of his power already being carried out by the demons?<p>

"As for you," the woman addressed the only other remaining occupant of the chamber, "My message isn't so much of a problem, but I prefer to inform someone quite related to the matter."

"I thank you then," the other woman replied, "What is this problem you speak of?"

"I have a potential candidate for the group that Genocide is to lead," she answered, "One of your children, to be specific."

"Oh? And who could this child of mine be? I've made too many over the course of history to keep track."

"Oh, you would know him well: remember Torment, one of the very few among our race to master control over flames? He is the one. You see, in your child's case, something rather strange had occurred—the human he used as a host had managed to seal him within his own body, granting him Torment's power, but not his control."

The other woman seemed surprised at the information. "A human, taking control of his Other self? Impossible! Such a thing has never been done, and to think, it was Torment himself that he subdued…"

"And yet it has happened. The reason I am telling you this is because I believe this child of yours would be a formidable addition to the Apostles in due time. Find a way for you to acquire Torment from the human; and let his host know his place."

"That won't be too difficult, I suppose," the other woman composed herself, "For a human to be able to restrain his Other self is quite a feat... Do you, by any chance, know his name?"

"Considering he has never taken the liberty to use his new abilities, I would assume that this human won't give you too much of a problem; I'm certain you would be able to find him easily. He goes by the name Isaki Tanaka; and I hear that he has nicknamed your child Mazuma."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: this'll start from where Yuu left off from chapter 6~<strong>_

Yuu instantly dropped the disembodied head in her grip as if she had touched hot iron. She took frantic glances all around her as her senses finally settled, taking in the gruesome scene. The mangled remains of the demons lay in a bloody mess all over the floor, along with the dead bodies of her unfortunate schoolmates. Most sections of the gymnasium's walls had already fallen apart, courtesy of the aforementioned demons.

Those who had managed to survive were silently gaping at Yuu with various expressions of bewilderment, awe, and fear. She glanced down at herself and felt somewhat disgusted: her clothes were thoroughly soaked in blood. The thick crimson liquid was still dripping from her arms as if she had just stuck them in a tub full of the stuff.

"Yuu!"

Turning towards the source of the voice, Yuu was relieved to find both Mato and Yomi unharmed; but surprisingly for her, for reasons she didn't know, her senses alarmed her of danger upon seeing Mato.

The two looked absolutely tousled, especially Mato, whose eyes were puffy and cheeks marked with dry tears. Seemingly unconcerned about their friend's bloodied appearance, Mato rushed up and gave Yuu a tight embrace, followed by Yomi. Both of them were breathing heavily as they hugged her, unintentionally staining their own clothes with blood.

"Yuu…! What-? Did you-?" Mato stumbled over her words before she finally formed a coherent sentence, "H-How did you just do that?"

Yuu's eyes were wide open in astonishment. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she felt that she should be staying away from Mato; now that she thought about it, she felt like she knew something about those brilliant blue eyes that her friend possessed...

Right. Those blue eyes were just like the ones from… someone she'd met. Slowly putting things together in her head, it took only a few seconds for the name in question to surface.

"Black Rock Shooter?"

Mato and Yomi gasped upon hearing that name. Slowly letting go, the two stared at Yuu, who looked just as confused as the both of them.

Before they could ask her about just how she knew about Mato's Otherworld counterpart, Yuu directed her attention outside. Letting go of Mato and Yomi, she jogged towards the outside through a large hole on the wall, with the others following her while stepping over blood puddles and rubble.

For a moment, they were puzzled about why Yuu just left the building; seeing her squinting at something in the distance, they directed their attention towards her line of sight, spotting something coming towards them. Well, that was one more question for the day: just how did she know something was coming from that distance?

A couple of seconds later, the object came into clearer view—it was a large helicopter heading directly for their school. It sure didn't take a professional to identify it as a military model; it had a sleek black design, equipped with turrets on both sides. Hearing Yuu indentifying it as a 'MH-60L DAP' baffled them even further, seeing as they never knew the Basketball Club Manager as being one for knowing stuff out of the blue(her grades weren't exactly good, but at least they were decent). Or was she secretly into COD?

The helicopter's deafening whirring grew louder as it came closer; unfortunately, it attracted unwanted attention. A handful of freaky demons with gangly limbs, bulging shoulders, and eyeless faces revealed themselves from the east wing of the building, their attention directed towards the helicopter. One of the demons alerted its companions when it spotted Yuu and the others, dashing hungrily for them. The students ran in the opposite direction, screaming all the way.

Yuu, however, stood her ground. Mato wasn't keen in leaving her friend on her own a second time; instead of running, she instead took an alternative move and got behind Yuu. Yomi shared the sentiment and followed Mato's actions, wondering just how this day took too many turns for the worst.

To their surprise, four of the demons just slipped past them, realizing that they were instead rushing for the fleeing students. The remaining demon lunged for the three of them, its bloody fangs bared. Yuu caught its face with her right hand and slammed it onto its back on the ground, whipping its face with her tail when she whirled around to stomp on its skull—

Wait, what? A tail? Checking behind her for it, she was surprised to find that she really had a tail: a black vertebrae-shaped appendage that resembled a scorpion's tail, ending in a diamond-shaped tip that looked like a tailbone.

Seeing the thing instantly answered Yuu's questions about the recent turn of events—mainly about how in the heck she was able to take out a dozen demons earlier, knowledge about stuff she never took an interest in, and how she was able to predict the now-dead demon's movements before she crushed its skull under her foot…

Of course. This was the power that Strength granted Yuu, along with the memories of her previous hosts paired with her own. So that could mean…

Turning her gaze towards Mato, Yuu thought about the name that had left her lips a while ago: Black Rock Shooter… As Strength, she had likely come across someone of the same identity. Someone who resembled Mato, which means… Mato had an Other self just like she used to! But if her earlier reaction upon hearing the name indicates that she somehow knew her own alter ego, could Black Rock Shooter have offered the bond just like Strength had?

Over at the other side of the current predicament, the four demons never made the kill. They stumbled along the ground in a bloody heap, the helicopter peppering them with a barrage of machinegun fire.

Getting closer to the school, the pilot picked a landing spot within the school grounds, estimating it to be a lot more than large enough to occupy the helicopter's size. When the helicopter was about twenty feet above the ground, cords dropped from it, with four soldiers sliding down. All of them were heavily equipped: Their camouflage-green suits were fitted with shoulder and knee pads, black Kevlar vests, and each one had a pistol strapped to their side, along with what appeared to be sub-machineguns slung around their shoulders. They also wore gray helmets with visor-equipped masks.

Upon dropping down, three of them immediately donned their weapons. One of them, however, stared at the destruction all around while gripping the sides of his helmet and growled, "Shit, we're too late!"

"Now's not the time for you to get all emotional," One of the soldiers barked, the voice unexpectedly feminine. She directed her attention towards her comrades. "You guys search the area for survivors and take out any hostiles you can find. Make sure that remaining civilians are safely secured, got it?"

"Roger," The soldiers answered, though the third one sounded frustrated. Without another word, the three headed for the school building and began their search.

The helicopter slowly descended, its propellers slowly powering down as the pilot deactivated specific functions. Once it touched solid ground, another soldier came out of the helicopter and headed towards the gathered students. "You kids alright?" He asked.

They nodded shakily, some of them thanking him for the earlier rescue.

"Glad to hear it." He took a few glances at the destruction everywhere, his disappointment feeling heavy, "We were sent her to retrieve a girl named Yomi Takanashi. Do any of you know her?"

* * *

><p>Saika's eyes widened—the man in red actually transformed! She was at first confused when he jumped into the air, but when flames sparked from his body, she had thought that maybe he was gonna do something like what the Firebenders did in that cartoon she once watched with her dad; but no, once he landed back on the ground, he was now a fifteen-feet tall dragon-like monster with small wings, the big sword he was carrying also transforming into a large saw-like flaming sword, and his whole body was on fire.<p>

She was even more confused when he attacked those golden men with wings, even those monsters who had arrived like meteors; did this mean he was on neither side? What did Daddy call it… uh… newtrul? Or was it another word?

"WAR IS HERE!"

She turned her head towards the source of the sound, seeing that it was one of the golden men flying by. She saw one of them point at the man-turned-dragon-thingie, saying, "One of the Four! But where are his brothers?"

Brothers? So the man had some people that he called Nii-san? Wait, that didn't sound right… Was he from Japan anyway?

The dragon stalked forwards, cars stuck in his path tossed aside or exploding as he swiped them away with his sword. Turning a corner, Saika stepped out of the alley she was in and followed him through the open highway. What she saw awed her: a hunched, humongous giant with a body made entirely of stone was chained to the ground. It kept struggling against the metal links before stumbling on its back.

A group of the golden men appeared from behind the giant, carrying… wait, Saika couldn't quite identify what they were, but they looked like big golden swords with really long handles, and they had… were those gun barrels? She was somewhat amazed; there were swords that could fire stuff? Cool.

"Judgment approaches!" Yelled one of the men. All of them charged for the dragon, and for a moment Saika was about to yell at them for being unfair—you don't just gang up on someone like that! That is, until he totally decimated each golden man coming for him, scorching them with vicious slashes of his flaming sword.

Hearing a great rumbling noise, she spotted the rock giant standing up weakly, but somehow it had managed to break free of the chains and started walking away.

Turning her attention back to the dragon, she was surprised to find him on his knees, clutching at his chest as if he were in pain. The flames on his body exploded outwards, and the dragon reverted back to the man in red. Despite the deafening noise of the surrounding battle, Saika was still able to make out the man's words.

"What… is happening?"

* * *

><p>Lily was sitting on the bed provided by the evacuation personnel. She and her husband were able to make it to the bunker safely, and just as Wyler had said, the place was secure enough. One of the people in charge had immediately escorted them to a room for their use, taking the initiative that a pregnant woman needed to be kept safe in dire situations. Wyler had left earlier to get food for the both of them, and she was left alone for the time being.<p>

Lily, now in a state of normal sanity, knew that no place on earth would be safe enough against the enemy they were facing. She knew one of them personally, after all.

She clutched at her skull tightly as the searing pain of her Other self's presence made itself known from within, trying her hardest not to wail in agony lest she attract unnecessary attention. When the pain finally subsided, she collapsed onto the bed, breathing heavily. She grit her teeth and sent a message through her psyche.

"_Just what do you plan on doing…?"_

* * *

><p>The students who recognized the name of the girl who had 'mysteriously disappeared' about a year ago pointed in her general direction. Thanking the students, the soldier made his way towards Yomi and introduced himself as Private Kenju—a soldier from the US military. He had explained that they received orders to find and retrieve her, whether she was alive or dead(something that sure didn't sound comfortable). However, when Yomi had requested that they take Mato and Yuu along, Kenju had turned it down: they were only to take her alone.<p>

"I can't just leave my friends here!" Yomi yelled, obviously frustrated, "I know you've got soldiers here, but there's only so much they can do! What if more of those monsters show up?"

"Didn't you hear me, kid?" Kenju replied, "I said, we're only going to take you. "

"And I said, I'm not leaving my friends! What part of that can't you understand? You either take them with me, or you're going back empty-handed."

"I don't have all day to bitch with you," Kenju hissed, "And let me say it again, it doesn't matter whether you're whole or in pieces, just as long as we take you back. I can just put a bullet through your head and save myself the tr-"

Before he could even blink, Kenju suddenly found himself hoisted in the air and slammed to the ground, knocking the breath out of his lungs. Blinking the black spots out of his vision, his eyes widened to find himself pinned to the ground by a huge black mechanical hand.

"Try hurting her, and I'll make sure you beg for your life while I make you suffer," Yuu growled, her voice cold and threatening.

"What the fuck?"

The female soldier immediately leveled her sub-machinegun at Yuu, but instead of telling her to let go, her words were directed at the soldier. "Sheesh, your foul mouth always gets you into deep shit, eh Ken?"

"What the hell, Yuki?" He roared, "Get me outta this! Blast the bitch full of holes if you have to!"

Something about how she spoke raised another question: why didn't she seem surprised?

"No can do," Yuki replied, "We were already informed about what things like her are capable of, remember?"

"Don't talk like I'm not here," Yuu said, glaring at her, "Just to tell you, I won't mind if you take Yomi along. It would mean that our buddy would be somewhere safe." She glared down at Kenju, "But this bastard just had to talk like he's got real balls. And also, you've got some explaining to do: what and how do you know about people like myself?"

"That'll be a conversation for another time," Yuki replied, slowly lowering her weapon, "…when we've got Takanashi secured, that is. I guess you and your other friend with pigtails are going to be coming with her, just as she asked. And would you please let the guy go now?"

"Okay. But he's got a long way to go if he thinks he can lay a finger on my friends." The Ogre Arm glowed white and shrank to the shape of her long black gloves, freeing Kenju from her literally iron grip.

He took a gasp of air and wheezed while he carefully stood to his feet, glaring at Yuki with disbelief. "What? Yuki, you heard those orders just as good as I did! We should only take—"

"That line's getting old," Yuki interrupted, "And you know how we work just as well as I do, Kenju: we do whatever it takes to complete a mission. The kid's right—what you just did almost cost us. Do you know what could have happened if you pissed off shorty here any further? Judging from how many students are miraculously left alive, I'd bet she was somehow involved."

"Don't call me shorty," Yuu growled.

Yuki simply ignored her. Surprisingly, she removed her gun's strap and tossed the weapon over at Kenju. "You're taking my place here. If anyone's gonna be escorting these kids back, it's me. I don't wanna risk you turning into blood salad. And you can just blow off some steam with any remaining demons you can find."

Kenju grumbled something incomprehensible under his breath which sounded more like gibberish to Yuu's enhanced hearing. He stomped over towards another section of the school building, silently fuming.

Now that that was taken care of, Yuki turned her attention towards the three girls. "Let's get going."

She started heading towards the helicopter, with the three girls following suit. A little nervously, Yomi approached Yuu and whispered, "T-Thanks. But, um… maybe you shouldn't have been too rough with the guy…"

"Don't mention it," Yuu answered, "And don't worry about that. The prick probably deserved it anyway." Yomi only gave a nervous 'okay' before turning her attention towards Yuki. After Yuu's earlier stunt, she sure suddenly felt like she lost the guts to say something loudly in anyone's direction.

"Excuse me, Miss Yuki, was it?" Mato asked, "what about the remaining students here?"

Yuki tilted her head towards them, her expression unreadable with her helmet on. "They'll be fine. My comrades are going to hold the fort until help arrives."

The girls boarded the craft, fastening their seatbelts and donning the headgear that would allow them to communicate during the flight. The pilot began activating the helicopter's rotor functions, preparing to take off. After some last-minute system checks, they were ready.

"Good God," A male voice said over the headphones. The girls realized it had come from the pilot, who was staring at Yuu, his wide eyes visible through his transparent visor, "What the heck happened to you, kid?"

"It's complicated," Mato replied uneasily.

Turning his attention forwards without another word, the pilot maneuvered the helicopter to ascend.

Yuu was heard yawning wearily over the din of the propeller's whirring. Mato and Yomi saw her steadily blinking, and she gave another yawn before leaning her head over Yomi's shoulder. "I guess you owe me one for earlier, so I'll just settle for this." She muttered, though she knew that the taller girl didn't mind despite all the blood on her.

Mato would have made a joke about being jealous. Right now, however, she had other things on her mind. "Yuu… what exactly happened earlier? Also…" she asked, "about Black Rock Shooter… just how do you know her?"

"Not now, please," Yuu replied wearily, not opening her eyes, "I'm exhausted. Can we save the questions for later, when I wake up?"

Mato just nodded, leaning back further into her seat. Yuki, who had been watching the short exchange with slight interest, addressed Mato, "Maybe you kids should grab some shut-eye too. We've got a long way to go."

"Where are we headed?" Yomi asked, slightly shifting her position to at least make Yuu a little more comfortable.

"Tokyo" Yuki answered, "Akihabara, to be more specific."

Both Mato and Yomi gave a slight gasp of surprise. "Akiba?" Mato asked, "But that's a crapton of hours away!"

"Which is why we had to pick up Miss Takanashi as early as we could. Unfortunately, we checked the fuel on this chopper and found that it wouldn't be enough to make the trip. We'll have to land in Kawasaki, and from there, hotwire a vehicle fast enough to take us to Akihabara." She faced outwards, her helmet protecting her face from the strong wind.

She carefully checked the mounted machinegun and inspected how much ammo was left. "The success of this mission lies in Miss Takanashi's safety. We'll have to take any action necessary to ensure she's escorted safely. Judging from shorty's actions earlier, I reckon that it'll be a cold day in hell before she lets the demons lay a hand on you two."

"I wanna know something," said Mato, "When Yuu did… whatever she did earlier, you didn't seem at all surprised. Do you know something about…" She wondered if she should even talk about this, but if this Yuki did know something, she might as well. "…do you know something about the Otherworld and its inhabitants?"

Yuki stopped examining the machinegun to turn her attention towards Mato. She was silent for a while before giving a little scoff, "So you know about that place too, eh? Well, I'll just tell you kids when shorty wakes up. It'll save me the trouble of explaining twice." She continued tinkering with the machinegun and said, "Now get some rest. You're gonna need it."

Mato nodded and relaxed herself. Turning her head at Yuu's direction, she found that Yomi was already resting her head on Yuu's own, eyes closed and breathing softly. Closing her eyes as well, Mato leaned beside Yuu, placing the petite girl snugly between her and Yomi.

And as the helicopter soared over the now-demon-infested remains of Kyoto, Mato sent a small message through her mind, one which she knew would reach its intended recipient.

"_Black Rock Shooter, can you hear me call?"_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: AAAAND there. Hope you liked it~ this was done in a bit of a hurry. xDD<strong>

**For those concerned, I apologize if Dead Master and BRS haven't been receiving screentime for a couple of chapters now. Rest assured, they **_**will**_** be showing up in the next chapter.**

**Oh darn, Isaki-kun & buddehs didn't show up for this one~ D:**

'**Till next time, and thanks a lot for reading/reviewing~! :D**


	10. Chapter 9: Mutual Conundrum

**Heya~! :3**

**Here's the rewritten version of chapter 9. I'm sorry if the original didn't include BRS like I promised in chapter 8, so I took care of that… even though her showing up **_**is **_**kinda short. I apologize if this took a while, but there ya have it~**

***The sections I added in this chapter consist of a short scene with Mato & BRS, and the introduction of a certain brunette into the story.**

**Haha, it's the longest chapter so far~! Enjoy. =w=**

* * *

><p>Within the blue expanse of space that existed in the confines of her psyche, Mato opened her eyes to find Black Rock Shooter standing before her, a rare show of worry etched on the tall girl's face.<p>

"Hey there," Mato greeted.

"You almost had a close with death just recently," Rock said, "Are you alright, Mato?"

Mato waved her question aside and said, "Well, you would know, right?"

Rock nodded. "That is true, but I would rather hear the answer from your lips."

Mato gave a light laugh, "You know, you're kinda cute when you worry," she said, now chuckling somewhat awkwardly, "I'm fine, of course. Yuu sure gave those things quite a beating."

"I believe that a 'beating' would be an absolute understatement," Rock said, taking Mato's word, "Speaking of which, what exactly happened with your friend?"

Mato was perplexed upon hearing that, "Wait, you mean you don't know?"

"I do not."

"But you should probably know something, right?" Mato asked, "I mean, haven't you come across something like this before?"

"I… I am not certain." Rock answered. There was an air of silence between the two before Rock spoke again. "Would it be alright if we talk about another subject for now? I believe it would be best if we keep our minds out of worry for the time being; and there is still some time before daybreak, after all."

"Sure," Mato answered, walking over towards Rock and sitting down, somehow getting herself to 'levitate' in the air while crossing her legs, resting her elbows on her knees and her head on her hands; she sure got the whole hang of this 'dimension-I-own-in-my-head' thing.

* * *

><p>Yomi opened her eyes to find herself within the cathedral that was Dead Master's domain. Only this time, it was a little more… <em>different<em> than she remembered.

She was standing in the same hall that she had been during her last visit, which now resembled a basilica's aisle more than anything—several polished, marble-white pews were now neatly arranged along the large area in six sections, as if it were arranged for a large congregation prepared for the minister's Sunday morning sermon, or the world's biggest, grandest wedding ceremony.

Several lamps were decorated on the restored pillars, giving a little more light and liveliness to the otherwise dreary building. The chains that used to crisscross everywhere were instead wound around the pillars in a neat spiral. The broken ceiling had been restored, but this time it was instead a large, arcing glass roof that offered a view of the eerie moonlight.

All in all, the cathedral had transformed from a horror movie set to a work of art.

But that wasn't exactly what caught Yomi's attention. Rather, it was those she believed to be the ones responsible for the renovations—judging from how they had stopped from fixing the last ruined pillar to stare at her with no discernable emotion.

They were what she could only describe as walking, living skeletons. Their frame was quite strange; their bones were a weathered dirty-green color, and their bones were too thick and strong to be that of a man's. They stood over seven feet in height, clad in clean white robes that clung to their skulls via a metal crown that was the same color as their bones, and their eyes glowed with a strange green light.

There were three of the skeletons that had been working on the pillar. Yomi felt nervous under their glowing gaze, and felt even more so when she looked around to find that there were actually quite a lot of the things in the surrounding area. One lifted its head from hammering. Two paused from carrying what appeared to be a glass chandelier. Some shifted their attention from installing lamps.

And all of them were staring right at Yomi.

From the closest one, she heard a voice that sounded like a rock placed in a blender.

"Master… look different…"

What?

From behind, Yomi heard the clopping of frantic footsteps, and before she could turn her head to face the person, she was tackled with a hug by none other than Dead master. Yomi knew she would have pushed her away if it were any other situation, but the way those skeleton things were staring at her made her think otherwise. She had just realized that those things were probably Dead Master's, if what one of those things just said were any indication. They would probably slaughter her on the spot if she showed any outright hostility.

Dead Master detached herself from Yomi and clutched her hands in her skeletal ones, utter anxiety plastered all over her face. Yomi noticed that the scar she had given her was gone, reduced to what looked like a scratch from a dull fingernail.

"Y-Yomi, thank goodness you're okay! I was so worried! I thought something bad would happen when those monsters started killing everyone in sight but then I was relieved when your friend somehow managed to kill those things but then I thought that human soldier was going to help but then it turned he was a big creep and then—"

"Wait, calm down!" Yomi said, "You saw everything that happened? How?"

Dead Master composed herself and replied, "I kinda… saw from your eyes, somehow." Then, noticing all the eyes observing them, she said to the skeletons, "Um… it's alright, boys. Just carry on with your work. She's…" she turned her eyes back to Yomi, "uh… a friend."

For some reason, Yomi felt disgusted at the notion of the word.

Taking their master's word, the living skeletons resumed their work. Dead Master felt Yomi give a slight tug, and she instinctively let go of her hands. "Let's talk somewhere else…"

A few seconds of silent walking later, Dead master had led Yomi into a large room that was filled with several shelves of books. Yomi recognized it though; upon feeling something familiar about the place, she was surprised to find that this was the same room in which Dead Master and Black Rock Shooter had fought in, recognizing the grotesque fountain of spikes in the center and its dome-shaped ceiling.

Yomi turned her head towards Dead master, wondering if she recalled anything about it. Noticing the look Yomi was giving her, Dead Master tilted her head and asked, "What's wrong?"

Nothing?

Yomi turned away and muttered, "It's nothing. I just… remembered something."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"It's not important," Yomi replied, her voice lacking a little bit tact.

Dead Master noticed. "Uh… maybe we should sit. I want to talk to you about a few things." She walked over to a cube of smooth gray stone, several others like it set in a neat circle. She sat down and patted the cube next to her, motioning for Yomi to sit.

Instead, Yomi stomped over angrily towards her and stood in the center, crossing her arms. "That makes two of us," She hissed, "I want to know something: if you had seen _everything_ that had happened back there, why didn't you help?"

Dead Master was taken aback. She cast her gaze downwards and looked away. "…I couldn't. I really couldn't."

"What's that supposed to mean? I could have done something!" Yomi barked, her expression turning furious, pointing an accusing finger at Dead Master, "_You_ could have done something!"

Dead master flipped her attention back at Yomi. "But I couldn't! I really tried, Yomi, but there was nothing I could do! I don't even know too much about this 'spiritual/supernatural bond' thing!"

"Sure, that sounds _so_ believable." Yomi scoffed, "Mind explaining just how you took over back then, huh? Sure, the whole 'taking me to a better place' nonsense had absolutely _nothing_ to do with it. Well, how were you even able to actually take my physical essence and bring me here, then?"

Dead Master was about to say something, but her breath caught in her throat. She had hoped that Yomi would never bring up the subject, but it appears that she was wrong. "I really don't know what you're talking about…"

Yomi stomped her foot angrily, suddenly making the ground rattle for a moment. Dead master yelped in surprise, making her look back at Yomi's furious eyes. To her disbelief, she actually felt like whimpering away in a corner under Yomi's enraged gaze.

"Don't give me that crap," Yomi snarled, fierce enough to make Dead Master wince, "You almost ruin everything for me, and just when I thought everything would be fine, you show up out of the blue acting all goody-goody. And then the next day, everything goes to hell! How can you even think that I'd believe a thing you say after—"

Yomi's rant was cut short when she felt a sudden tug on her body. It came back again, then again, then again, like a steady, consistent hearbeat. "What's—"

Dead Master answered the question for her, speaking in a small, frightened voice. "You're waking up."

Yomi turned her attention back to her, finding Dead Master's eyes downcast, unseen under her bangs and light-green veil. Yomi simply didn't say a thing as she let herself rise to consciousness.

When Yomi had finally disappeared, Dead Master was silent. It didn't last long, however. She bit her lip, trying to hold her emotions in-an attempt which utterly failed. She grunted at first, slowly turning it into a faint whimper, then a sob, before finally, tears ran down her porcelain face as she bitterly wept.

"I don't understand…" She said to herself between sobs, "Why? Just why does Yomi hate me so much?" She tried to rub at her eyes, forgetting that her glasses were in place. She took them off and rubbed her face with her sleeve, but the tears kept coming. "I don't even know what I did wrong…" She cast her tear-filled eyes upwards, choking on her voice.

"I just want to be your friend, Yomi…"

* * *

><p>Yomi woke up to find that she was seated beside Mato in a truck's backseat. Rubbing her eyes, she found Yuu in the shotgun seat, with an unfamiliar woman in a military outfit in the driver's seat.<p>

"Oh, you're awake," Said Mato, getting Yomi's attention.

Yuu tilted her attention from her seat towards Yomi and smiled. "Good morning to you, Sleeping Beauty."

"Where…?" Yomi slurred.

"We're driving down Kawasaki right now," the woman said, "We arrived a few hours ago, but you and Miss Kuroi were still asleep. Me and shorty had to carry you both while Yusuke looked for a vehicle good enough for us."

"How many times do I have to tell you _not_ to call me that?" Yuu groaned.

The woman just chuckled. "Sorry, sorry. I just can't help it."

It took a few seconds for the familiarity of the woman's voice to sink in. Her hearing was still kinda hazy, after all. "Wait… are you Miss Yuki?" Yomi asked.

"Yep," Yuki replied. She turned her cast a grin at Yomi, and she finally got to see how the previously stern soldier really looked; she was obviously a foreigner, but Yomi wasn't sure of what nationality. Her skin was a little tan, and her eyes and short hair were chocolate-brown in color, the latter tied into a small ponytail.

"Private Yukina Yee, at your service, Miss Takanashi." She said, "But just call me Yuki. A lot of people do."

"Well, now that everyone's up, why don't we get on with the interrogations?" Yuu said.

"You mean the Otherworld thing?" Yuki said, turning her attention back forwards as she drove, "Well, let's just save that for later. Right now, how about we grab some grub? I haven't got anything to eat since yesterday's lunch."

Eh? Yomi immediately faced outside, surprised to find that the sun had already risen. "We were out for _that_ long?"

"Yeah, they said that it took some time for Mister Yusuke to find a vehicle for us," Mato answered.

"Yusuke?"

"The pilot guy."

"Where is he?"

"Sleeping in the back of the truck," Yuu answered for her.

"Huh?" Yomi said, "But isn't that unhealthy?"

"Don't worry about him," Yuki said, "We soldiers are made of sterner stuff. A little pain in the back won't do much."

"Okay…" Yomi was silent for a moment, but then a sudden thought crossed her mind—one that she cursed herself for not even remembering. "Wait! What about our parents? Were they—"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," Yuki said, "It's been taken care of. Most of Kyoto had already been evacuated before the demons even arrived. To tell the truth, your school was the last area to be secured yesterday. Your parents are probably in Akihabara's evacuation center by now."

As they drove through the city, the girls saw that the place had become a wrecked ghost town—a fact that they found rather disturbing. Several automobiles were either upturned or ruined, the highway was filled with debris from utterly demolished establishments, smoke was seen in numerous points in the horizon, and lights flickered on and off from mangled businesses.

Soon, Yuki parked the truck in front of a mall, whose lights were surprisingly still on. She turned off the engine and stepped outside, sub-machinegun at the ready. "You girls stay here for now. I'll scout the place for any hostiles."

"You sure about that?" Yuu asked, "The demons probably left the city to rampage somewhere else."

"How would you know?" Yuki said.

"If you actually had the mind to listen to my explanations earlier, you would have known that my kind is indirectly related to the demons; trust me, I know those things like the back of my hand."

After a few moments of giving Yuu a doubtful look, Yuki shrugged. "Well, there's no harm in making sure."

She headed off into the mall, leaving the girls on their own with a resting soldier. A few minutes later, a gunshot was heard from inside. Wasting no time, Yuu jumped out of the truck and sprinted towards the mall; but instead of using the entrance, she instead broke down the wall adjacent to the noise just by charging through it.

"Yuki! You alright?"

"Shorty, was _that_ even necessary?" Yuki yelled back, coming into view. "A Halloween mask just surprised me, that's all."

Yuu's worried expression instantly turned into a grin. "Seriously?"

"Oh, shut it." Yuki scowled threateningly, but instead of at least being intimidated, Yuu just returned the glare with a smug grin and a snicker.

Mato and Yomi had caught up to them already. "Are you alright?" Mato asked.

"She's fine," Yuu said, "Yuki-chan just chickened out for a sec."

"I did not!" Yuki said, her face flushing red, "Anyway, shorty's probably right about the demons leaving the area. I'll just get us some food at the convenience store, okay? You girls should wash up while I'm at it. As for you, shorty," She turned towards Yuu, "Go get a change of clothes; you look absolutely filthy."

"For once, we agree on something," Yuu said sarcastically.

"Wait, we're going to be looting?" Yomi asked, somewhat incredulous.

"We're just going to be taking what we're going to need," Yuki said, somehow able to compose herself, though her face was still a little red. "It's alright, a few less merchandise won't make too much of a difference; a couple of people probably took a bunch of stuff before us anyway."

Yuki then headed off to another direction, leaving the girls to themselves again. Yuu turned towards the two and shrugged. "Off to the clothing section, I guess?"

* * *

><p>Back in New York, a street was surprisingly filled with strolling people—all of which happened to be females. Various girls and women of different looks and obvious preferences all chatting and laughing merrily, as if they were all oblivious towards the destruction and chaos all around them.<p>

Among them was Kagari Izuhira, still clad in her torn hospital gown. With a smile on her face, she stood beside a tall, imposing woman who stood out from the crowd: she had long, black hair that flowed down to her waist, adorned with a tilted black crown on her head. She wore a black cocktail dress with a knee-length wide skirt, decorated with a white chain and a gold-buckled white belt on the waist, along with two crossing white belts on the chest. Her left wrist-length sleeve was a casing of sleek black armor, and her right hand, which was holding Kagari's left, was covered with a big gray gauntlet. As if her appearances weren't peculiar enough, a large, wicked, golden sword with a spiraling hilt was strapped to her back, giving the impression that this woman was _not_ one to be messed with.

"Where are we going, Mother?" Kagari asked.

The woman gave her a smile and she said, "We're just looking for another sibling of yours, dear. A brother of yours, in fact."

Grief spoke from behind with astonishment in her voice, "We had a brother?"

"That's correct," the woman replied, "And let me tell you: he is quite strong. _Very_ strong, in fact. And we need him as one more blade to our…" She gestured towards the gathered girls behind her, with some who had decided to pay attention to her words, "…_vast _arsenal."

She suddenly perked up, noticing something that her companions could not. "What is it?" Kagari asked.

The woman's expression twisted into a vicious smile. "Well, speak of the devil…"

From an alley not too far from them, Mephistopheles, Isaki, Theodore, and Connor ran out and into the open highway. Isaki, however, upon noticing the woman standing with the gathered crowd behind her, immediately skidded to a halt, his eyes wide with shock.

"…and he shall appear."

* * *

><p>Before deciding to wash herself up, Yuu had gone searching through the store's merchandise for one particular piece of clothing. She had already picked up most of the clothes she would need, but what she considered to be the most imperative of her gear just <em>had <em>to be the one that she was having a hard time looking for…

Of course, since the vast majority of the Otherworld's populace had peculiar tastes in fashion, one would certainly agree that a 'common' outfit in that realm wouldn't really make its way into human shopping malls. What store would _even_ sell a uniform that looked like it was made out of rust?

Yuu was about to groan in exasperation when she had finally found something that looked a lot like what she was looking for—a leather vest with a high collar. It didn't exactly resemble the one that she wore as Strength, seeing as the collar was several degrees smaller, but it'll have to do.

She removed it from the rack and examined it closely. Giving a nod and a pleased smile of approval, she carried it along with the clothes she was going to use. Time to wash up; all the blood on her stank like crap.

* * *

><p>One of Tokyo's evacuation centers was jam-packed with activity, especially in the medical wing. To and fro, medics tried to assist the wounded or those who could still be saved with the best of their ability, consequences be damned. The place had been deemed as one of the most stable establishments in Tokyo, and had been in use since yesterday's literal rain of hell.<p>

As mentioned, though it was one of the most structurally stable establishments in the city, it was not completely safe. Surrounding the building were groups of soldiers, and several RPG-equipped units were stationed on the rooftop area, all ready to give their lives if needed for the sake of the people within the building.

And in the vast room that would have been used as a large conference hall, numbers of survivors were sitting together, the emotionally-stronger ones doing their best to comfort the ones breaking down in despair. But if one were to look for whose motivational voice spoke the strongest in this time of sorrow, it was the one belonging to a certain woman named Saya Irino.

She was a fairly attractive woman with a short bob of choppy black hair and deep-brown eyes. She was wearing a thick red coat over a baggy pink button-up shirt, and was wearing a pair of tight jeans. Saya worked as a guidance counselor in a local highschool, and her skills when it came to emotional and psychological matters were deemed professional even in her line of work. She never really cared too much about the large sum of money she often received from the school or the overly-grateful adolescents that consulted her; for Saya, helping people with their emotional turmoil was her trade, and she was going to put it to good use.

Before her were the emotionally broken states of the surviving students from her school, along with other people who had wondered what a woman that was looked up to by highschool kids had to say. Saya had been consulting each one of their troubles for several hours now, giving them words of motivation and encouragement without raising their hopes too much: she knew that it was for the best if that were the case, considering the current state the world was in.

She approached a rather muscular boy that stood taller than her, whose expression remained calm and firm; but from the way he was silent and how his spectacle-framed eyes gave a slight twitch of surprise upon seeing Saya, she knew the boy was just hiding a state of misery under a mask of resilience. After all, he had already spoken to Saya about his troubles the day before.

Clutching onto him tightly and crying was a girl who was a lot shorter than him; Saya recognized her as the girl that she had helped the boy confess to a few months ago. Saya would have giggled in delight upon seeing how much the two had become close, but the current situation called for different responses.

The two students greeted her in acknowledgement, and Saya greeted them back. She then approached the girl, knowing that she could help in one way or another. "Would you tell me about what's troubling you, Asami?" She asked.

The girl, Asami, tried her best to speak properly between sobs, "M-Miss Saya… m-my parents… me and S-Shouji-kun couldn't find t-them here… they weren't e-even in the m-medical wing…" She continued to bawl on the boy presumably named Shouji, who, in the presence of the guidance counselor they all trusted, was already trying his hardest not to break. "Oh my God! W-What if those monsters g-got them? Miss S-Saya, I can't stand it! I want t-to see them now!"

Shouji got Asami into an embrace, and she continued to wail in terrible distress, burying her face into his chest.

Saya got closer to the girl, and placed a firm but encouraging hand on her shoulder, saying, "Asami, please don't ruin yourself like this. As a human, I cannot guarantee your parents' survival, nor can I properly give you the knowledge needed to know of their state. But know this: no matter how much the world is destroyed, no matter how many people die, even if everyone else forsakes you, I assure you that the man holding on to you will always stay by your side." He gave Shouji a sad smile. "You are all he has left, after all."

Asami slowly grew silent, slowly processing the words she was given; she then turned her bloodshot eyes toward Saya, then up at Shouji. To her surprise, tears were already falling down the boy's cheeks as he wept as well. "W-What do you mean?"

"He spoke to me earlier," Saya said, "Shouji has already lost his family in this discord, Asami. You need to be strong for each other—each other might be all you would have to overcome this hell."

Both became silent for a few minutes, and Saya let them take their time to think. Later, Shouji gave her a wan smile, indicating the wordless gratitude that she had received. Saya smiled back, and was about to turn around to search for any others in need of emotional assistance when a collective gasp was heard.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," a feminine voice spoke, the words lined with every sense of malice, "To think, that the great Carnage would leave her trade in the favor of such pathetic humans! Surely this is some kind of joke."

In a single second, a great scythe cut through the air to slice at Saya, and the next, the great blade was already grappled against a golden pen held firmly in Saya's grip.

"Deathscythe," Saya said, "Quite a pleasure to meet you."

The one carrying the scythe hopped backwards, twirling the weapon in a single hand before pointing it at Saya. She was surprised upon seeing the black-haired girl's attire: the girl wore the same uniform as the students in her school.

The people surrounding both of them all stepped back as far away as they could, others already taking the initiative to get their sorry asses out of the area before total shit happens.

"That makes one of us," Deathscythe hissed. "Tell me, would you really use your power to do what I just saw you doing?"

"Isn't the fact that you saw me helping these children enough for you to know?" Saya answered, her eyes narrowed as she steadied herself for any attack Deathscythe would deliver. "Leave this place, Deathscythe. Harm these people, and I assure you, I will have your head on a pike."

Deathscythe cackled, an insane sound sending waves of fear among the spectators. "You, kill _me_? I think you've more than just fallen from glory—you've become a total idiot, to think that you would stand a chance with only a pen in hand! What are you going to do? Pull off a _Percy Jackson _ripoff and let it transform into a sword? Don't make me laugh!"

"You just did," Saya countered, "I would thank you for the convenient idea, but I have a question in mind: just what do you want?"

"Quite simple," Deathscythe replied, twirling her scythe around and moving steadily like a beast about to pounce on its prey. "A couple of folks just want you contained. A being of your caliber would be a powerful ally; but frankly, you're just as dangerous towards your comrades as you are towards your enemies. It would do us better if you were in a form more convenient for our use."

Saya glowered at her, steadying herself. Holding the pen in her right hand firmly, she concentrated the energies of the one within her into the small tool; the next second, various trinkets, all made of gold, were flying through the air and gathered together in a large clump on Saya's hand. More and more pieces of jewelry and other baubles from the people all around her detached themselves from their owners to be drawn towards Saya's pen like a magnet. Deathscythe just observed the sight with a grin on her face.

The collected pieces of gold began to shift themselves into a long, broad shape, easily as tall as Saya. As if great heat were shaping the tool in her hand, all the gold melted inward to form a large sword. Saya twirled the weapon with ease and pointed it straight at Deathscythe, allowing a perfect view of the wickedly-shaped blade. On one side was not a smooth, straight blade like any sword would have, but instead, it was a saw-like surface lined with rows of large serrated teeth. The hilt was covered in an arcing saw, and on the edge of the hilt was the shape of a human skull. The upper edge was larger than the one below it, separated with a hook-like edge on the middle.

"Let me tell you, Deathscythe," Saya said, pure tendrils of angry red energy rippling across the blade in her hand, "That as much as I agree with your words…" She made a show of intimidation by swinging the blade around and stabbing it into the ground, the concrete below her feet instantly being reduced into molten rock, "I don't think the beast inside me will want to come quietly."

* * *

><p>Much later, Mato, Yomi and Yuu walked out of the mall in a fresh change of clothes. Yomi donned a light green blouse and black jacket, along with a knee-length skirt and black stockings; Yuu wore the aforementioned vest over a white shirt, with brown jeans and black boots; Mato was dressed in a white top and dark-blue jacket, with knee-length shorts and blue sneakers. Oddly enough, she even added knee and elbow pads with her outfit.<p>

Yuki was waiting for them in front of the truck, with four servings of cup noodles that she had placed on the hood. There was also a small packet of bento, which, according to Yuki, was the only one she found that had not been ruined; it turned out that a demon had probably landed right into the convenience store some time ago.

When everyone agreed that it wouldn't be too fair if any of them had it, they had decided that they should just give it to Yusuke once he wakes up—just as a small compensation for actually finding a vehicle big enough for the five of them, and for flying them safely to Kawasaki in the first place.

After eating the otherwise simple meal, the group set off for Tokyo. Yuu, seated in the shotgun seat, spoke up as Yuki drove. "So, since we now got that out of the way, how about you tell us your piece, Private Snowball?"

"Snowball?" Yuki said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yuki means 'snow,' so I thought of a nickname for ya," Yuu answered, grinning, "A bit of payback for calling me 'Shorty' all the time."

"Fair enough," Yuki snickered. "Anyway, I guess there's no point in hiding the truth from you, since you've already had a first-hand experience with what the government's been hiding all this time…"

Yuki's tone turned serious, inducing the girls into paying attention to whatever she had to say. "Several months ago, what others had believed to be meteors struck a small area of the Mojave Desert. Some of them science loonies went to investigate the crash site for themselves, but never came back. You can probably guess what happened, right?"

Mato and Yomi nodded.

When people were sent to investigate, those who had gone before were all found dead, massacred into indiscernible piles of meat. Totally gave them something to puke about, I tell ya.

Soon enough, reports were heard about 'monsters' attacking local establishments on random locations around the globe. Later, the military was mobilized to handle the situation, and for the first time, we all had our own face-to-face battles with actual hellions.

As the months rolled by, more and more 'meteor clusters' have been appearing everywhere, and several military groups had to be dispatched to take care of the problems before they get any worse. All the while, the government had to make sure that the existence of the demons was kept from the public and the media, just to make sure that widespread chaos would be avoided, and the rest is history."

"That makes sense," Yuu said, "Well, how about the fact that you know stuff about the Otherworld? Just tell us _how_ you knew about the place, though."

"Well, a few months ago, just when several military leaders were starting to lose hope against these continuous attacks, a little bit of information was received, saying that someone had intel on how the demons would be dealt with most effectively. I was surprised to find that the person in question was someone I knew."

"Who was it?" Yomi asked.

"Someone that I trained with," Yuki replied, "Anyway, he gave details about the existence of the Otherworld to others, but several people never really believed him at first. However, a few of us agreed that any information that would prove useful was a lot better than nothing at all. We accepted his proposed methods-which surprisingly worked.

More people had to get his suggestions on which weaponry would prove to be effective against certain demons, all of which had proven effective so far. Later, he then explained the significance of the beings that we came to know as 'Other selves' to the human world. When he admitted that he was a 'host' to one, it wasn't too hard to believe him; what gave us a weird freakout was that he was actually able to summon and bend flames to his will—that kinda cleared any further doubts we had about this whole 'demon invasion' thing."

"Whoa, back up. Did you just say that this guy was able to control flames?" Yuu asked.

"I did," Yuki replied, "You know the guy or something?"

"Not really, but I think I've heard of him…" Yuu said.

"Anyway," Yuki said, "I've said my part of the story. Well Shorty, how about you tell me yours? I don't really know too much about the Otherworld, so kindly enlighten me."

"Will do," Yuu answered, "The Otherworld is some sort of parallel world that exists among the humans' own. Several other worlds actually exist on earth, all of which are accessible in one way or another; but the Otherworld has one particular drawback: nothing goes in or out.

Its inhabitants are actually the embodiments of concepts in the physical world like sadness, fear, joy, etc. Four in particular do not exist in the Otherworld: War, Strife, Fury, and Death. The beings that inhabit it are locked in perpetual conflict, but without the existence of death in that world, the fighting will last for eternity without any sure victor."

"Wait," Mato interrupted, "If you say that war doesn't exist in the Otherworld, then why is there fighting?" she asked.

"War is fought for a purpose, Miss Kuroi," Yuki answered for Yuu, "War always has one side who will eventually succeed, no matter how long the battle rolls on. But fighting just for the sake of fighting is not a war at all; it's more of a childish scuffle, if you ask me."

"You're smarter than you look," Yuu grinned mockingly.

"Just in case you didn't notice due to how cocky you are," Yuki replied, grinning back, "I'm a _soldier. _It's only natural that I'd know shit about war."

"Anyway," Yuu continued, "We do not know just how long the Otherworld had existed, nor when we came to be. Time is also an inconsistent matter in that world. I'd bet this explains how we still look like people in their twenties despite living for God knows how long.

Although its inhabitants are unable to leave the Otherworld physically, they are all able to use a human 'host' to indirectly venture into the world outside. With this method, they are able to see just how much humanity has progressed without much intervention on their part.

In addition, one can actually become one with a host through a strangely complex process; when this is done, that Other self ceases to exist in the Otherworld, and he and his host become one being in the human world. Depending on the situation, the new creature created during the process can either have the consciousness of either the host or the Other self as the dominant one."

Yuu brought a hand to her chest and spoke somewhat wistfully, "I, Strength, have already formed this bond with the one you know as Yuu Koutari."

Mato and Yomi were surprised, though they somewhat expected something like this; Yuki's eyes widened in disbelief but didn't say a thing.

"You know the biggest drawback about this fusion thing? Since the Other self's existence is now cut off from the Otherworld…" Yuu paused for a while before she shrugged and said, "…the Other self loses his or her immortality, and is now susceptible to death."

Mato was taken aback. "What? But i-if you already knew the risk of making the bond, why did you even do it?" she asked.

"It was more of a selfish reason, actually," Yuu answered, "While it was true that I did it because as Yuu, I wanted to save you from those demons… As Strength, I've already grown tired of fighting without the risk of losing my life. Can you imagine how much it sucks to lie in pieces in a shithole, just wanting yourself to die?"

"I see…" Yomi said, somewhat taken aback by the revelation, "I have a question, Yuu… or should we call you Strength now?"

"Just Yuu will do," she answered, "And sure, what would you like to know?"

"About Black Rock Shooter. How do you know that name, and what do you know about her?"

"That's a bit complicated, but I guess I'll tell you…" Yuu started, "Put simply, Black Rock Shooter is an enigma—we do not know just who she really is."

Mato was bemused. "What do you mean?"

"We're not exactly sure when she even came into existence, but she is quite known and hated among the denizens of the Otherworld," Yuu said, "Why? Because, for some reason or another… anyone that she kills _stays _dead."

Mato was even more surprised. "But people don't die in the Otherworld! How can that happen?"

"I don't really know," Yuu said, "But the ability to really kill in a world where death is nonexistent is just the tip of the iceberg. One of the biggest mysteries about her is that we don't know just _what_ she is."

"Isn't she an Other self?" Yomi asked.

"Who knows?" Yuu replied, "Others say that she could be a grim reaper, but I find that hard to believe. Think about it: she really was able to have a human host just like an Other self, but what of her appearance? Unlike everyone else that I've seen or met, Black Rock Shooter looks the most humanlike; no claws, horns, wings, tails, or whatever. Her power is definitely inhuman, and her movements and reflexes are incredibly swift; animal-like, even. But if you'd ask me, one of the biggest mysteries about her lies in the origin of her blue flames."

"Uh… what about it? What makes those flames so special?" Mato asked.

"Because, Mato," Yuu said, turning her attention towards her, "Blue flames are the mark of an angel."

* * *

><p><strong>Yay it's finished~! :D<strong>

**For now, I guess…**

**Thanks again for reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter.**

**Later~! (^w^)/**


	11. Chapter 10: Unusual Dilemmas

**Summer break finally came around! The only tiring thing I'll be getting to do would be my [somewhat enjoyable]part-time job, so I guess that means I'll get to spend more time writing this fanfic. Enjoy~! :3**

* * *

><p>Slumping somewhat uncomfortably in her seat, Mato was currently trying to soothe a mental headache. She was leaning on Yuu's unoccupied seat, the girl having left it earlier when she technically opened the window to spider-crawl over towards the truck's roof, explaining that she just wanted to feel the wind in her face—as if sitting unsecured on top of a vehicle speeding at 60 miles an hour wasn't a big deal. Seriously, she coulda just used the sunroof or something…<p>

Anyway, back to Mato. She was having a bit of a hard time processing the information that Yuu(or Strength, as she had now called herself) had given them: mainly, the info regarding Black Rock Shooter.

Mato already knew most of the stuff that Yuu had told them about the Otherworld from Rock, since she often had interesting conversations with her Other self on an almost nightly basis. Due to the fact that Mato had grown fond of Rock, paired with how grateful she was towards her for saving Yomi back then, Mato had thought that probing into Rock's identity any further would just be a waste of time.

The things she had been able to understand so far, however, were downright strange and disturbing, to say the least.

*First, Rock had appeared out of seemingly nowhere.

*Anyone that she killed would stay dead, despite the inexistence of death in the Otherworld.

*She could be killed, but unlike what should be the other way around, Rock would not die.

*Rock was feared and hated among the Otherworld's inhabitants, but apparently others had bravely/stupidly engaged her in battle on several occasions, each brawl ending in one messy aftermath or another.

And of course, there was the issue regarding what particular race Rock belonged to, after Yuu's articulated classifications:

*Rock wasn't a human, though she definitely resembled one.

*She wasn't a demon, though she had one's tenacity, instinct, ferociousness, and animalistic brutality.

*She wasn't an angel either, but though Rock bore the mark of one, the way she fought according to gathered, anonymous information said otherwise.

*Although existing in the Otherworld and was also able to associate with a human host, Rock didn't fit the specifications of an Other self due to her aforementioned traits, according to Yuu.

Yuu had also brought up certain species and races that she claimed to also exist on earth, for the sake of getting more information regarding Black Rock Shooter; if it weren't for the fact that several freaky creatures started showing up all over the place since the advent of the demons and angels, Yuki(who never had actual contact with nonhuman beings until a few months ago) would have thought that Yuu was just being a nerd drugged with anime and video games.

Yuu said that Black Rock Shooter couldn't be a 'Maker,' whatever that was, since Makers were generally humanlike giants that looked like they swallowed buckets of steroids; when asked if she ever knew one, Yuu just waved the question aside and continued with her peculiar explanations. She also mentioned things about what she called 'Constructs:' basically just dumb giants whose bodies were composed of diamond-hard stone. Neither was she a 'Wraith,' since according to her, this sub-species of humanlike demons commonly used magic to fuel their powers—a trait that was rarely found in Other selves.

Unknown to Mato due to the illogicalities that swam around in her head regarding Black Rock Shooter, Yomi was also in a mental predicament.

This was because of a particular species that Yuu had mentioned: creatures that she called 'Darklings.' Something about Yuu's description of the things had instantly made Dead Master come to mind: she mentioned that Darklings were supernatural parasites that fed on the negative emotions of its host. When Yomi had asked about what these things looked like, she sure got quite a surprise though she had half-heartedly expected the answer: Darklings had a humanoid physique, spindly hands, and bony wings, to name a few details.

Yomi considered the possibilities of Dead Master being such a creature, though she also couldn't come up with a coherent conclusion: if Black Rock Shooter had already annihilated her, wouldn't it mean that Dead Master was… well, dead?

She had also thought that perhaps not being able to die in the Otherworld worked differently for other races, but it wouldn't make sense either; Yuu denied the suggestion, stating that only Other selves were capable of harmless linking with a human host. It turned out that other species' attempts to do so often ended up in disastrous results, mainly the total elimination or contamination of the human host's soul and the loss of the occupying being's sanity.

Basically, both Mato and Yomi had issues concerning the specific identities of their respective Other selves, while Yuu was able to just get along with her Other self in like, a few moments(if only they knew better). They weren't exactly envious, but the world was just unfair like that.

* * *

><p>Kagari and her sisters had been instructed to just step aside, the woman they knew as their 'Mother' insisting that she wanted to face Isaki on her own without interference. This applied to Isaki as well, although Connor and the others had been extremely hesitant and outright puzzled. Grudgingly, Isaki instructed them to look for his daughter without him—something that definitely ticked his friends off. Mephistopheles had unexpectedly complied and had to pull both Connor and Theodore from the scene, just before Connor managed to yell a few words towards their friend.<p>

"You better live to tell us everything, Isaki!"

In response, Isaki gave him a reassuring smile and said, "Who do you think I am?"

When he had concluded that his friends had gone a safe enough distance, the smile on his face vanished, replaced by a cold glare when he turned to face the woman before him.

She didn't seem to notice; the woman extended her arms outwards as if expecting an embrace. "It's been so long, my child. Aren't you going to at least say hi?"

"You ain't my mom," Isaki spat.

"Now, now," the woman said, lowering her hands to her side, "That's no way to talk. I came all this way just to see you, and this is how you greet me?"

"I don't really recall myself being happy to see you," Isaki said, his gaze remaining resolute, "And neither does Mazuma. If you really know your 'child' as much as you think you do, you'd know that this little meeting won't end so well for either one of us."

"Mazuma?" she asked, her quizzical expression then brightening when she gave a laugh that was all too creepy, "Oh, you mean Torment! You must be the one called Isaki Tanaka, correct? I'm sorry, it's just that you look too much like my son that I mistook you for him."

Her golden eyes narrowed, eyeing Isaki thoroughly, "Your hair is a tad bit longer, though. That's quite an attractive ponytail you got there."

"Sorry, flattery doesn't work too well on me," Isaki scoffed curtly.

"How rude," the woman frowned, "I was just giving a simple compliment. To think, that my son has chosen you for a host? I'm sorry to say that I don't approve of him spending time with the likes of you."

"That's more I like it," Isaki laughed cockily, "How about you and I just get this over with?"

The woman removed her sword from its place on her back, giving it a threatening twirl before slamming its tip on the ground, making large cracks on the concrete. "If you insist."

"Oh, and just to tell you: even though me and your kid share a lot of things in common, when it comes to disputes, I'm not as social as Mazuma," Isaki held his palms open and in a burst of blood-red energy, his knuckles were already covered with large metallic gauntlets, each one emitting a bright flame. He clenched and unclenched them both, simply testing if the two were good enough; he wasn't disappointed.

Isaki fixed his stance, both of his arms ready to unleash a payload of burning clouts. He taunted the woman with a leer and said, "I let my fists do the talking."

* * *

><p>To Saya's utter horror, it appeared that she was losing against Deathscythe. The black-clad murder enthusiast was different from her: unlike Saya, the girl was already one with her Other self, whereas Saya and the one within her, whatever its name(or title) was, were only two halves of the same whole. They could only try to synchronize their movements and thoughts as they tried to parry every strike that intended to finish them off.<p>

"What's wrong, Carnage?" Deathscythe mocked, grappling the blade of her scythe against Saya's sword. Saya was using every bit of her strength just to make sure Deathscythe would not overpower her, but the strength in her limbs was getting drained by a large margin—a humiliating display of the human body's inferiority to that of a being from the Otherworld.

"Is _this_ all you have to show for the bold words you've given? I had planned an array of methods against you, and you insult me with such a display, Carnage?" Deathsythe seethed fiercely, keeping a grin full of contempt all the while. "PATHETIC!"

Deathscythe jerked her weapon upwards, bringing Saya's blade along with it. In that short second of distraction, she wasted no time and punched Saya directly in the stomach, sending her flying and rolling along the ground like a rock sent skipping on water. Saya came to a halt when her back slammed into a wall, knocking the wind out of her. She dropped down like a rag doll onto the floor on her side, clutching her stomach and coughing out blood. Saya's arms were trembling as she tried to raise herself up, and the best she could manage was getting to lean on the wall, breathing heavily.

As if Saya wasn't humiliated and beaten enough, Deathscythe kicked her golden sword from where it lay on the floor towards Saya. Instead of the usual clink that blades usually made when tossed, the sword slammed along the ground like a gong, impaling itself on the wall right beside Saya when it reached her—a testament to the material of which the great weapon was composed of. It was a wonder just how Saya was able to wield it in the first place.

"Get up," Deathscythe hissed.

Saya couldn't. That single punch had taken too much out of her; even though she knew of the great strength the inhabitants of the Otherworld possessed, knowing about something and actually experiencing it were two different things. So this suffering was what their kind went through on an almost daily basis? Then again, they possessed far greater resistance to pain than humans did; they could endure this beating like a human never could be able to.

But as said, Saya was just a human. It took what little remained of her strength to raise her left hand towards the sword's hilt, but it even that proved to be a futile effort; her arm dropped limply by her side. Within her mind, she could hear the screaming protests of her Other self: its words were filled with too much desperation and contempt towards Saya, roaring in rage about how much of a weakling Saya was and how pitiable it would be for either of them if she let their efforts go to waste.

But when Saya spared a fraction of a second to view the condition of the one within, she was surprised to see tears flowing down its face: the being was a woman who resembled Saya perfectly, though she had her notable differences. Her knee-length hair was a deep shade of crimson that it was almost black, and her eyes glowed with a bright red light. Two curving, blood-red horns crowned her head, her hands were encased in large skeletal gauntlets, and her legs from the thighs down were armored with wickedly-shaped steel, both pairs of accessories bearing the same deep shade of blood as her horns.

Saya's Other self kept screaming indiscernible profanities at her, expressing her supposed hatred towards Saya for being so fragile; but the horrid expression on her face and the tears streaming down spoke of a different matter entirely, and Saya could easily sense her emotions through the bond they shared: she didn't care about the enemy. She didn't care about the sword. She didn't care about the spectators' safety. All it cared about was Saya's survival, who was now but a few reaches away from death.

Seeing the state her Other self was in strengthened Saya's resolve to succeed. She weakly reached for the sword with her right hand, and when her fingers brushed along the flat of the blade as she reached for the hilt, she could see the eyes of the skull on it burn with the energies of the beast within. Gripping the hilt, Saya used the sword to raise herself up on shaky legs. With what little remained of her strength and the will to fight on, Saya yanked the sword out of the wall and plunged it into the ground as she faced Deathscythe, using it as support for her beaten form.

"_Let me take over for now, Saya," _A voice within her psyche spoke.

"N-No…" Saya panted, simply speaking feeling too much like a chore, "If you… do that… you'll be… the one shouldering this… pain…"

"_Listen to me, damn it!" _the voice growled, _"Don't you know how difficult it'll be for me to find a new host? With the world like this, I might not be able to find one anymore! And are you actually getting so old that you're forgetting just what I am? I'm a denizen of the Otherworld! I don't give a fuck how much she'll beat the shit out of me, so just stop acting like a stubborn old goat and let me do this!"_

"Haha…" Despite the harsh language that snarled around in her head and her condition, Saya managed to make a smile on her face. "You really do care…"

Saya let herself succumb to the fatigue that clouded her senses, trusting her safety with the beast that dwelled within her. The next moment, her consciousness was now within the same space that her Other self had previously occupied; strangely, she was still able to see through her physical vision, probably for the sake of surveillance.

Deathscythe smiled in wicked satisfaction as she saw crimson wisps of energy hiss from Saya's body, most of it concentrated along the surface of her sword. Saya staggered forward when she raised the sword to hold it with both hands, and when she lifted her head to gaze at Deathscythe, her eyes now burned with a bright red glow.

"That's better," Deathscythe said, twirling her scythe before leveling the blade at Saya, "Ready for round two?"

Saya growled in a voice that definitely wasn't hers, the sound resembling a fierce beast. She put a foot backwards and pointed her sword at Deathscythe with a drawn arm, the other handling the flat of the blade-a position that would allow her to plunge the sword forwards if the enemy came close enough.

"Hell yeah."

Deathscythe rushed towards Saya, their weapons meeting in a clash of metal against metal.

* * *

><p>"Get yourself somewhere safe, before it's too late."<p>

Saika was staring up at the literally glowing eyes of the man that had saved her—to be more specific, it was the man in red. A red hood lined with gold obscured most of his visage, but from Saika's position—her tiny frame being held safely in the man's large left gauntlet, allowed her a proper view of his face: long white hair framed his overly-muscular features, and on his forehead was a glowing scar shaped like an upside-down trident, one of its prongs going down his nose and the other two down his eyes, the entirety of both orbs glowing with a gentle blue light.

Just a few moments earlier, a demon had come crashing down into a skyscraper, breaking the structure into half. Saika had been right across the street at the time, and she would have been crushed by the falling building if the man had not dashed right in to snatch her away. The speed at which he was going was surprising, considering his large build.

"Saika!"

Saika turned her head to see a man with blonde hair emerge from an alley, and after him were her Uncle Theodore and the silver-haired man who had saved her earlier.

The man in red had noticed. Before any of them could come any closer, he removed his sword from its strap on his back and pointed the weapon at them. Saika managed to get a glimpse of the great sword, and with the weapon within close proximity, she felt a strange power from it—something powerful.

The sword was just as long as the man was tall, and that was saying something; the man stood more than seven feet in height. The designs on its metal surface sure gave her a fright: three faces marked its weathered, metallic length, with several smaller ones among them, each one intricately carved to indicate the façades of wailing, suffering men. The first face was right above the hilt, in the shape of a toothless, jawless skull; the second, placed in the middle, was the face of a screaming man; and the third, with its lower jaw making up part of the sword's tip, was the deformed face of a growling demon.

"What is your business here, angel?" The man in red said. Following his line of sight, Saika saw that his words were directed at the silver-haired man.

Wait a second, did he just say _angel?_

Surprisingly, he gave a respectful bow. "Horseman, it is an honor to be in your presence," he said, straightening himself, "Me and my companions mean no harm. Please hand the girl over, and we will take our leave."

The man in red gestured with his sword towards Theodore and the blonde and said, "Care to tell me who _these_ are?"

The silver-haired man nodded, "They are close friends of the girl's father. We… came across trouble along the way as we searched for her, and we got separated from him." His eyes hardened and his tone grew firm, "The woman responsible is one of your kin, Horseman."

"Impossible. My Sister does _not_ harm humans, angel. And she knows better than to stray from our path when there is work to be done," The man in red's voice became threatening, "It would do you good to not accuse us of insignificant actions."

"It is not _her_ that I speak of," The silver-haired man replied, "You may not trust me in saying so, but believe me, it's entirely complicated."

Because of the uncomfortable tension in the exchange of words, it took Saika a while for what was said to register. "Wait!" She said, "D-Daddy's in trouble?"

Somewhat hurriedly, she detached herself from the man, who complied and simply set her down. Facing him, Saika said, "T-Thanks so much for saving me, mister-!"

Saika's words went unheeded when the man set his sword back, walking away. She was silent, bemused by his actions; Saika had spent too much time with polite, friendly people, that this show was rather new for her.

She almost stumbled when her Uncle Theodore suddenly gave her a hug, saying, "Don't just run off like that, Saika! Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

Saika just stared at the man in red's departing form, her voice small and confused, "Uncle… Did I do something wrong? That man didn't look happy…"

It was the silver-haired man that approached her, setting himself down on one knee and placing a hand on her shoulder, "It's alright, Saika. He just has important things to do right now." He stood up and said to them, "Let's go back to Isaki. He probably has his hands full right now."

* * *

><p>Isaki parried a thrust of the woman's blade with the back of his large gauntlet, sliding his weapon down its length to deliver another punch. He drew back a fist and struck, but his blow only left a large flaming crater where the woman used to stand; she somersaulted backwards to avoid the attack, but the resulting shockwave managed to send her a couple of feet away. She adjusted her position in the air to skid on her feet, stabbing her sword into the ground to stop herself from going any further.<p>

"Strange," she said, pulling her sword out of the ground, "I expected something a lot less from you, human. You're not as weak as the claims made you to be."

"Whoa, so I'm famous now?" Isaki said, "Even from someone like you, I'd say that's good news."

"Don't get cocky," She dashed forwards and swung her weapon, a loud clang heard over the din of chaos. She found her sword grappled with both of Isaki's gauntlets, but the surprising strength behind those metallic fists didn't deter her in the slightest. "Many have already heard of your feat against my child; I'm certain that several are now after your head for this insult."

Isaki gave a cynical laugh, "Haha… Is that so? That means I'll get more to send to kingdom come!" He surprisingly pushed her back, getting his face closer to the woman's to look into her eyes. "Well, bring it on, then! I'll kill as many as I can until I'm just a piece of dead meat!"

"Humans…" She seethed, glaring at Isaki, "You just don't know your place. Your arrogance will lead to your inevitable downfall!" She pushed Isaki back, then swung her blade outwards to send him stumbling.

Isaki landed in a heap, immediately standing up to face his opponent again. "At least I bring a lot of punks down with me, right?"

Within his psyche, a male voice spoke, its tone plainly neutral. _"Why are you doing this, Isaki? You know that you might perish if you attempt defeating this woman any further."_

"_Well, she _is _your mom, right?" _Isaki answered, _"Something about her just ticks me off."_

"_Is that reason enough for you to risk your life? That woman isn't known as the Dragon Slayer for nothing."_

"_Dragon Slayer?" _Isaki whistled, _"That's pretty sweet."_

"_Look, Isaki," _The voice said,_ "I don't care how much you beat this bitch into submission; but just try thinking straight this very moment. If you somehow fail and are killed, what would be of Saika? Sure, you've got your friends to take care of her; but she already grew up without her mother's care. Would you risk getting your daughter orphaned, Isaki?"_

Isaki grit his teeth, sending a reply that was entirely lined with hatred, _"My wife's death was your fault to begin with. Why would you even care about Saika?"_

"_Believe me, she's probably the only thing I care about now. And if I let my host, who just happens to be the only literal parent she has left, die in the hands of my pathetic excuse for a mother…"_

Isaki didn't send an immediate reply, having to dodge another sword thrust when the woman that his Other self described as 'Dragon Slayer' came rushing for him. With his opponent within reaching distance, Isaki threw a punch that was easily blocked by Dragon Slayer's blade; unable to position herself correctly, she got sent flying several feet away, slamming into a pile of rubble.

"_I hate it when you make more sense than me," _Isaki grumbled.

* * *

><p>A knocking sound was heard; looking around when the knocking kept repeating, Mato took the alternative direction and looked up to see Yuu tapping on the truck's sunroof. Yomi reached up to open it, and Yuu stuck her head inside, grinning.<p>

"Just when I thought you couldn't get any more reckless," Yuki said, keeping her eyes forward, "Get down from there, Shorty."

"Make me, _Mom_~" Yuu turned her head towards Yuki and stuck her tongue out.

"You've been livelier than usual, haven't you?" Yomi sighed.

"Yep, RL is the shit!" Yuu beamed, "Wind without the smell of dead crap feels so good~"

"I thought you said that people don't die where you're from," Yuki said. She slapped Yuu's hand away when the girl tried tugging on her ponytail, still keeping her eyes on the road ahead.

Yuu rubbed at the sore spot, "That doesn't exactly mean we don't rot for a while."

Yuu turned her attention back to Mato, saying, "Hey, I've got something to ask. You've spoken with your Other self for a couple of times already, right? What's Black Rock Shooter's real name, then?"

"Real name?" Mato said, confused by the question.

"'Black Rock Shooter' is just a title, isn't it? A lot of people from the Otherworld often have them. I never really accepted ones made for me, though. I just thought it'd be lame."

"Her name…" Yomi muttered, "It would be the thing that the Other self is an embodiment of, right?"

"Um… I never asked her, actually, " Mato said.

"Why don't you do it now?" Yuu said, positioning herself to get her face closer to Mato's.

"What do you mean?" Mato asked, "Wait, you mean like, ask her about it right now?"

"Well, duh."

"I can't," Mato said, "I can only get to talk to Rock when I'm asleep…"

Yuu sniggered to herself, and when Mato and Yomi gave her a questioning look, she said, "If you really have known her for as long as you said you have, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet…" Seeing the confused looks on Mato and Yomi's faces, Yuu lightly tapped Mato's forehead with her knuckle, which was a little difficult than expected since she was upside down, saying, "You can chat with your Other self at any time, dummy. Even during waking hours, we can see and hear everything around as well as you can. In fact, I think Black Rock Shooter's 'eavesdropping' on us right now."

Those words rang a metaphorical bell in Yomi's mind. "W-What?" she exclaimed, "Then what Dead Master s-said about seeing everything was true?"

Unexpectedly, Yuu's eyes widened in recognition, and she shifted her attention towards Yomi and said, "Whoa, you know the kid?"

"W-What?" Yomi said.

"WHAT?" Mato shrieked, her blue eyes wide and gaping, "Yomi, what are you saying? D-Dead Master's alive? Have you been speaking with her? Why didn't you tell me?"

Though still confused, it took Yuu a few seconds to connect the dots. It was when she took one long good look at Yomi that everything sunk in. "Oh."

Yuki decided that she wouldn't understand a thing that the girls were saying anyway, so despite being overly befuddled, she concentrated on driving.

A few seconds after the tense silence that followed, Yuu gave an uneasy chuckle and said, "So, it just turns out that my two buddies have Other selves just like I used to, both who I know of… and it just so happens that those two are often ostracized…"

Mato gave an uneasy laugh of her own, "Yeah, after meeting that thing, that's pretty understandable…" Then suddenly, Mato's tone became serious—something that neither Yuu nor Yomi had ever expected to happen. "Why didn't you tell me, Yomi? Who knows what that thing could do to you again…? How long has this been going on?"

Yomi shifted uneasily in her seat, uncertain on how to act in the face of Mato's sudden change of demeanor. "…it was the night before yesterday, actually. I just thought that it wouldn't bother us, and… it showed up last night too, when I slept."

"Whoa, whoa, stop right there," Yuu said. Looking up to face her, both Mato and Yomi were surprised to see a stern frown etched on their friend's face. "What do you mean 'it?' It's a 'she,' guys. You're making it sound like the kid's all evil and stuff."

Mato replied with a humorless voice, "That's because it was! We never really considered telling you, since we never knew that you had an Other self of your own, but," she continued, "Dead Master was the reason behind Yomi's disappearance back then, Yuu. It made Yomi believe that it was going to help, but it only made things worse! It took advantage of Yomi's state back then, clouding her thoughts with false promises of serenity. It was around that time that Black Rock Shooter first appeared to me, and she helped me get Yomi back."

Yuu was silent for a while before answering, "You know what, if we weren't friends, I would have just called your story a pile of horsecrap."

Both girls were taken aback by that statement. "You don't believe us?" Yomi said softly.

"I just find it hard to believe, that's all, " Yuu answered, "If that's how Dead Master left an impression on you two, then you probably won't believe what I'm going to say, either."

Mato and Yomi shifted themselves closer, and Yuu positioned her body on the roof to make herself more comfortable.

"Not many people take on the challenge of venturing into Dead Master's territory. This is mainly because the whole place is rigged with too much traps, and no proud warrior of the Otherworld would ever bear the shame of dying by the means of a simple contraption.

Those who _do_ find their way to Dead Master are the ones who get to spread the stories about her, and they all speak the same thing: the embodiment of sorrow is a friggin' pacifist. Apparently her whole place is filled to the brim with safety measures just coz' she doesn't want to get in a scrap with anyone. Soon enough, people simply decided to just leave her alone. Dead Master bothers nobody, and nobody bothers her. It's not like anyone ever liked making an easy kill, anyway."

"Easy… kill?" Mato mumbled, clear disbelief and irony lining her words, "But it even took Rock a lot of strength just to overcome that thing…"

"Please, Mato," Yuu groaned, "Discriminating anything or anyone isn't like you at all. Dead Master's not an 'it,' okay?"

"You're rather keen on defending her…" Yomi grumbled.

"Just because she doesn't play by the rules doesn't exactly mean she's a bad person," Yuu replied, turning her head in Yomi's direction, "She's you're Other self, isn't she? You two are literally the same person-!"

Those simple words made Yomi's tolerance snap. She immediately stood from her seat and yelled in Yuu's face, "Don't lump me in with that monster!"

Despite the surprise she got from Yomi's sudden retort, Yuu had been contemplating on giving a reply of her own when Yuki suddenly yelled, "HOLD ON!"

Yuki suddenly swerved the truck to the left, just in time for an automobile to slam itself into the ground where the truck used to run. Yomi was knocked off balance, but was fortunately caught by Mato. Both girls called Yuu's name in alarm, and then noticed that there was something fist-sized and black stuck through the truck's roof—Yuu had stabbed the tip of her tail right through to keep herself from being flung away.

When Yuki had brought the truck's driving to a rate where it didn't wriggle like the vehicle itself was drunk, Mato screamed, "What was that?"

"How should I know?" Yuki replied, "A frickin' car just got tossed at us!"

Mato and Yomi both leaned in to stare through the truck's windshield. In the distance, probably just a few kilometers away, was the city of Tokyo, several plumes of smoke rising at several points from the area. Even from their position, they could clearly see several of the buildings had already been ruined, and the faint sounds of conflict echoing from the city.

Their eyes widened when they saw several more vehicles flying straight for them, but the one which was the largest made them gasp in shock—an oil tanker.

"Oh shit." Yuki muttered.

They looked up when they heard the sound of crumpling metal, seeing that the tip of Yuu's tail wasn't there anymore. In the next second, Yuu left a large dent in the roof when she jumped. Yuki, being the only one who didn't wince in the resulting damage, was the only one who gawked when she saw Yuu arcing several feet in the air, both of her arms drawn and ready. When she intercepted the plummeting oil tanker, she caught the immense vehicle by its hood with both of her hands, and, by some impossible feat, she swung it in midair as both of her Ogre Arms activated, using the massive vehicle to bat a couple of others away. Using the momentum created by her swings, she hurled the oil tanker back in the opposite direction, resulting in a large explosion of angry flames when it met solid earth.

Yuu clenched her enormous fists, then brought them down as she crashed through the air, using her Ogre Arms' massive weight to slam into a van, effectively punching a hole right through. She brought down several more automobiles in her one-man blitzkrieg, making a large crater in the ground where she landed.

It was almost too late when she realized that she had miscalculated in her attack. Whipping her head back, she cursed when she saw that a few more vehicles were still on a collision course with their truck. Yuki might be able to drive the truck out of the way, but it took only a millisecond of a mistake for certain destruction. Yuu knew she couldn't just jump to smash the vehicles in time, and even if she were able to, she would be the one crashing through the truck, making her friends' deaths her own fault to bear.

"OH, SON OF A—"

That was when Yuu suddenly heard a small sound beyond the pandemonium of shrieking metal, screeching tires, and roaring flames-a small click.

All in a split second, the incoming vehicles were sent careening through the air, each one blown away by precise shots of cannonfire. The speed at which it was done was so fast that for the untrained eye, it would look like the falling vehicles had just dashed through midair from one spot to the other, continuing their crashing descent several hundred feet away.

Yuu snapped her attention back towards the city, and as she somewhat expected, she spotted a faint glimmer from something long, black, and large disappear behind a building. Whoever or whatever it was, it didn't want to be seen.

Yuki stomped on the brakes when they reached Yuu, who was strangely staring with narrowed eyes at the city before them. Mato, Yomi, Yuki, and a notable male addition stepped out of the truck, with the man screaming, "DID THE WORLD JUST STOP MAKING SENSE OR SOMETHING? IS IT JUST ME OR WAS IT LITERALLY RAINING CARS?"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Yuki barked.

As the two soldiers were being ignored, both Mato and Yomi ran towards the strangely silent Yuu, who didn't seem to notice her friends appearing with her gaze still fixated upon the city of Tokyo.

"Yuu…?" Mato said, gripping her friend's shoulder, giving her a good shake, "What's wrong?"

Yuu's features twisted into a pleased smile, and she directed her attention back to everyone present. "Guys, you better get ready. I think this day just got more interesting." Ignoring the questions sent her way after that statement, Yuu took the lead and started heading towards the city.

She brought her large fists together and somehow cracked her metallic knuckles, then grinned and muttered, "Three times more interesting."

* * *

><p>Connor, Mephistopheles, and Theodore, who was carrying Saika on her back, ran through the streets as they tried to retrace the paths they took when they were intentionally separated from Isaki.<p>

Saika, the ever-curious child, had a few questions nagging at the back of her mind ever since the man in red had left: the big man had called the one with silver hair an angel. Not only that, it sounded like the silver-haired man knew the man in red, and had spoken to him as an individual to be respected.

"Um… angel-man?" Saika muttered. When it looked like the man hadn't noticed, she said more loudly, "Excuse me?"

He noticed and turned her head towards Saika, "Yes?"

"The big man with the red hood… what was his name? It's not 'Horseman,' is it? I think that would sound a little weird… it looked like you knew him."

"Well, Saika," He said, "If you're wondering about how I know him, it's all because I have been carefully watching people like him in this city for a long, long time. His name has been known and feared by the beings of this world for ages, you see. Would you believe me if I said that Isaki, your father, is actually just like him?" Noticing Connor and Theodore's shocked expressions, he said to them, "That includes the woman earlier, as well."

"C-Come on, I don't want to hear the whole story!" Saika said, immediately reddening after she realized that she just shouted out of frustration, "I j-just want to know his name…"

He smiled at her for a moment before his voice took a dark, ominous tone. "War. The man in red's name is War."

* * *

><p><strong>Please note that I said 'I guess~' ^<strong>

**Finished this during a day off. The reason? It's only been four days and I broke my frickin' ankle already. I totally gotta be more careful from now on~ xDD;**

**Anyway, I just re-read this fanfiction myself recently, and it turns out I was unable to point out one not-too-crucial detail. *clears throat* The current events over at Mato & co.'s end happen in the morning, and Isaki, Mephistopheles, big-dude-in-red's own battles happen late in the afternoon. I'm pretty sure readers have noticed this too: although happening at different times, both events coincide with each other. Y'know, time zones n' shit. xD**

**Also, thanks so much for all the positive reviews I've been getting~! All of them are totally motivating, srsly. Can't thank ya enough, people~ w**

'**Till next time!**


	12. Chapter 11: Impartial Factions

**Enjoy.**

* * *

><p><em>Akihabara, Tokyo<em>

Everyone had been outright confused when Yuu had suddenly taken off sprinting, yelling back for the others to follow her. Halfway through, Yuki had snatched Yomi up and carried the girl on her back, noticing that she had been tiring out a lot faster than anyone else present. Of course, Yomi was the least physically adept in the group, so it was pretty comprehensible as for why she was panting like heck.

All around them, the corpses of demons and humans alike littered the streets, along with more chunks of rock and debris. In the distance, the sounds of battle rang with blasts of gunfire and explosions. Whatever or whoever had done this was still around.

None of her companions had probably noticed, but Yuu had definitely seen _and _recognized what had saved her friends from being crushed under tons of flying steel. If it was who she thought it was, then this certain person was going to have their comrades around; Yuu inwardly laughed, wondering if a few introductions were going to be underway.

Yuu dashed through the streets with ease, her knowledge as Strength aiding in weaving through large pieces of debris—the real world was starting to look like the mangled state of the Otherworld, and she hoped that this earth wouldn't end up like it. She made sure that she was going slowly enough for her friends to catch up, and fast enough to make sure that she would still find who she was looking for nearby.

Fortunately, she wouldn't have to go very far. Just when Yuu was about to go around a corner, something crashed right into her, earning a painful yelp from her and- whatever it was. Both of them lost their footing, falling onto the floor painfully. The sound of something _really _heavy dropping onto the ground was heard, noticeably metallic in nature. For a moment, Yuu wondered what could have happened if she still had her Ogre Arms activated.

Yuu rubbed her chest and winced; something real hard had slammed into her ribs. "Watch where you're going you clumsy fu—" Her eyes widened when she saw who it was.

"I-I'm sorry! I was just—" The one who ran into Yuu also fell silent upon seeing her. It was a girl who was noticeably taller despite both of them being on the ground. Her choppy black hair was cut short, and her eyes glowed a deep emerald-green. Oddly, she was dressed in a maid outfit, along with a maid headdress and fake cat ears on her head.

Oh, right. This was frickin' _Akihabara._

That was not what snapped into Yuu's head, however. Both of them instantly stood, the girl diving to the side to snatch up what had been dropped a few seconds earlier, jumping backwards to point it straight at Yuu—a large black rifle, which was even longer than the girl was tall.

Yuu pounced forward just in time to slap the rifle's barrel in a different direction with the back of her hand; the girl accidentally pulled the trigger, the rifle's shot blasting into a nearby building, bringing its supports down. The structure fortunately tilted in the opposite direction, crashing into a different building.

Yuu grabbed the rifle's barrel and yanked it from the girl's hold. When she moved forwards to grab it, Yuu clenched her other fist and whacked the girl on the head, bringing her down on the ground again. The girl slowly brought herself to a sitting position, clutching her head in pain.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?-!" Yuu yelled, earning the girl another wince.

"Shorty, what'd you do?"

Yuu turned around to see that Yuki and the others had finally caught up with her, all of them breathing heavily; Yomi was an exception, who was being carried by Yuki on her back.

"T-That hurt…" The girl whimpered.

Yuu ignored Yuki's question and the girl's chagrin. She nudged the girl with her foot and said, "What's with you, huh? You could have blasted my head off with that thing! Seriously, it's been thousands of years but you're still too much of a ditz!"

"I'm sorry!" The girl cried, "I wasn't going to shoot! I was just afraid you might hurt me and all…"

"It's too late for that," Yuu said, "And what are you doing here?"

"Hold on," Mato said, grabbing their attention, "Yuu, do you know her?"

Mato's question made Yuu bring a palm to her face. _Right. _How the heck did she forget the introductions?

"As Strength, yes," Yuu answered, then gestured to the girl on the ground, "This kid is known as Demon Cannon." She then gestured towards her friends, facing the girl on the ground, "These are my friends. The jarhead with a ponytail is Yuki, the pretty one that she's carrying is Yomi, the only guy in the group is Yusuke, and the only one whose name doesn't start with 'Y' is Mato."

The girl instinctively backed away, dragging herself on the ground backwards when she saw Mato. "Y-You!"

"Chill, kiddo," Yuu said, "Black Rock Shooter isn't gonna jump out of Mato or anything."

"Is she…?"

"Yes, she's Black Rock Shooter's host," Yuu said, "Now get up. You look stupid on the ground, kid."

Shakily, the girl slowly raised herself from the ground, and Yuu tossed the large rifle in her direction. She caught the weapon clumsily and the butt of the weapon hit the ground, making a loud clang which indicated just how heavy it was.

"Um…" she began, lifting the rifle to wield it properly, "I think 'Demon Cannon' sounds kind of weird. My former host's name is Mayuri Shiina. Would it be alright if you call me by that name?"

"Noted." Yuu replied.

"Is she just like you, Koutari?" Yusuke asked.

"Dude, I thought the bigass gun was already enough of an indication." Yuu answered, then turned her attention back towards the girl, "Anyway, could you tell us what you were doing here?"

Mayuri nodded. "I was in a battle against another one like us along with my friends. We all sensed something strong approaching, and he tossed a lot of vehicles in its direction…" She faced Yuu and she scratched her head sheepishly, "But when it turned out to be you, I just thought I'd tell my friends to get out of the area…"

Yuki snickered, "I dunno how you were able to sense her, but I take it you were afraid she'd beat your asses into next year, am I right?"

Mayuri gave an uneasy chuckle," Err… pretty much."

"The feeling's mutual. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that this little midget can mash me like a potato if she felt like it."

"I'll take that as a compliment, Snowball," Yuu said, "Anyway, who's 'he?'"

"Uh…" Mayuri scratched her cheek with her free hand, "Um, was it a he? Or a she? I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure…"

Yuu groaned again, "Just tell me who's responsible already. I wanna give whoever it was a piece of hell."

"So you're going to help us? Thank goodness!" Mayuri said, relief evident in her tone, "Her… His…? Um, what was… oh, its name is Geshumaru."

Yuu was silent for a few seconds, earning herself a few odd looks from everyone. Her lips then shifted into a sinister grin, and she cracked her knuckles threateningly. "_Oh_ yeah. I had a feeling this day was gonna be great."

* * *

><p>It took a lot of their willpower just make sure they wouldn't disobey their mother's word.<p>

When they were instructed not to interfere, Dragon Slayer's children had all stepped aside, observing their mother's battle with the man named 'Isaki Tanaka' from a safe distance. They all knew their mother was strong, but unexpectedly, her human opponent had proved far more skillful in the area of combat than what was initially thought.

Halfway through the battle, the odds were suddenly placed against Dragon Slayer. She was put on the defensive, each blow from Isaki's gauntlets dealing much greater force than the last. Dragon Slayer had tried intercepting one of Isaki's punches with her own gauntlet, and that slight moment of underestimation gave her a few broken fingers and a nasty burn.

"Oh, come on," Isaki said through his teeth, giving Dragon Slayer a strike that sent her skidding several feet away. He dashed forwards, unleashing another punch that had her knees buckling. "I thought you were a lot better than this!"

Dragon Slayer pushed him back with the flat of her blade, putting a lot of her strength into her left arm. Her right hand was severely injured because of her earlier error, and she knew it would get even worse if she still relied on it to hold her weapon. "How dare you speak to me like this, human pest!"

"It's pretty obvious, isn't it?" Isaki said, putting a comfortable distance between himself and Dragon Slayer, "You're already on the edge of a cliff. It wouldn't be bad to throw a little comment here and there, right?"

"You son of a—"

"Whoa, time out," Isaki said, "I thought you weren't one for swearing, lady. And hey, if you call me whatever it was you were intending to, wouldn't be just as bad as cursing yourself? Mazuma's your kid and everything."

Snap. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!" Dragon Slayer charged with her blade raised above her head, intending to destroy her opponent where he stood. "JUST DIE!"

"MOTHER, WATCH OUT!" Kagari screamed.

At the speed that she set herself, Dragon Slayer couldn't put herself into a halt immediately. A great blue beam shot down from the sky, and in an explosion of bright blue light, she was sent flying into a large piece of concrete, effectively crushing the cement. Weakly, she brought herself to a standing position and opened her eyes through her now blood-clouded vision.

There, crouching with a great golden lance impaled in the center of a large crater was a man with massive white wings that burned with bright blue flames. He yanked his lance from the ground, and he raised his head to glare at Dragon Slayer with eyes that glowed a bright blue.

"You… bastards…" Dragon Slayer wheezed, "You… angels… never learn… how to fight fair!" She raised her sword to point it at Mephistopheles with both hands, ignoring the pain in her limbs, "This fight… is between… myself… _and_ this human! I _will _take back my son!"

"The one named Torment has already ceased being in your clutches, Dragon Slayer," Mephistopheles said, "The life he seeks is one without you in it. Let us leave peacefully, and I will leave you as you are."

Dragon Slayer's children instantly brought themselves before Mephistopheles, ready to defend their mother despite knowing the consequences it held. They had disobeyed their mother, but hadn't the human cheated in an indirect manner, too? This battle was meant to be only between her and the human, but the odds were now two to one. There was no way they'd just stand back and let their mother be defeated like this!

"No, stay out of this, all of you!" Dragon Slayer gasped, "He'll kill you all!"

"NO!" She heard Misery yell, "We can't let them do this!"

Mephistopheles didn't seem deterred in the slightest by their sheer numbers. In any case, it made their fear of him even more evident. He leveled his lance straight at the crowd, causing them to cower away a few steps backward despite the distance between them.

His lance was noticeably different from the ones carried by the angels in golden armor; it was modified to be also be used as a weapon for long-range, medium-range and melee combat, but the weapon consisted of two barrels—a smaller one for artillery and a larger one for explosive fire. The blade was larger and more streamlined, making it more efficient in terms of speed and slicing power. The handle was longer and thicker, and its tip held a smaller blade on a block-shaped base, etched with a rectangular fist mark in the center.

To the crowd's dread, the larger barrel of the lance began to glow, humming with power—Mephistopheles was going to blast them away. The girls up front just stood still, most of them already cringing in preparation for the imminent blast.

The lance discharged a blast of blue flames several feet from where the girls stood, which nonetheless created a shockwave that forced them back. It fired one shot after another, each one closer than the last. From the rate it was going, it wouldn't be long until one or more of them would combust into a bloody mush.

"NO!" Dragon Slayer cried.

The next shot blasted into the ground a few feet away. Taking the chance within the single second it would take to charge another shot, Kagari rushed forward to take the hit. The blast struck the ground in front of her, effectively sending her flying. She was fortunately caught by Grief before she could hit anything hard, but the agony was clearly pasted on her face; Kagari's mouth hung open in a wordless scream, the pain too much for her to even utter a single grunt.

It was an excruciatingly ironic display: Anguish herself suffering in the face of her own power.

Several of her sisters screamed her name in horror; Kagari's legs were badly charred by the cerulean fire, the white bone of her legs already revealed from how badly the single shot scorched her flesh. Kagari clutched Grief so tightly that her nails dug into her sister's flesh, but the other girl's thoughts weren't on her own pain. Grief just realized that she had just placed herself in the face of her death, the large barrel of Mephistopheles' weapon now aimed straight at her and Kagari.

Before the angel could pull the trigger, Isaki immediately put himself in the line of fire and backhanded the lance, causing a sharp clang; the shot was blown off target, instead blasting into an adjacent apartment that literally blew the place to pieces.

For a moment Isaki refused to think what could have happened if he had been a split second too late.

Apparently Mephistopheles wasn't even dissuaded by Isaki's actions. He aimed at the crowd once again, but this time a certain someone wouldn't let him get the chance to shoot; Isaki grabbed the weapon by its blade, letting it tilt in another direction. When Mephistopheles tried to tug it away, the flames on Isaki's gauntlets burned even brighter, its fiery red blaze a stark contrast to the angel's own.

"What are you doing?" Mephistopheles asked, his voice firm.

"I should be the one asking you that," Isaki roared, "What's with you? These kids don't have anything to do with this, and neither do you!"

"Hesitation won't help you on the battlefield, Isaki," Mephistopheles said, yanking his lance from Isaki's grip, "As a soldier, you should know that. And besides, you and your Other self already cut off all ties with the Dragon Slayer. What would it matter if these little ones die? They stand in your way, so you should just simply dispose of them."

Isaki gave Mephistopheles a hard shove, making the angel stagger backwards a few steps, "I'll have you know that I'm not like you, Meph," Isaki said, "Just because you're an angel doesn't mean you've got the right to stick your nose in anyone else's business! This is _my _fight, you got that? I was doing okay before you screwed everything up!"

Dragon Slayer had managed to make her way in front of the crowd. In her state, however, it didn't take long until she stumbled, landing in the arms of one of her children. "Don't ignore me! We're not done here!" she yelled in a raspy voice, "I'll make you pay for this!"

Isaki and Mephistopheles both noticed, turning their attention back to her. Mephistopheles regarded her with distaste, "You are in no condition to fight. It would be best if you just let us leave, Dragon Slayer."

Dragon Slayer growled, "You don't make the decisions, angel! You dare insult me by harming my children, and now you just waltz away as if you never—"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Isaki barked, interrupting her. He dispelled his large gauntlets with a small burst of flames, a couple of embers still running along his arms, "One uninvolved casualty's more than enough, Dragon Slayer. I don't care if you end up killing yourself, but if I have to risk dragging more bystanders into this mess, then I'm not sticking with this scrap."

He carefully approached Kagari and Grief, making the purple-haired girl hold onto her sister tighter. She shut her eyes tight and shrieked, "Don't hurt us!"

Isaki didn't answer; he held out his palm, summoning a wisp of red flame. He set himself down on one knee, then speaking in a soft voice that still held an indication of his frustration, "I'll be honest: I just hate Mother so much that I literally want to tear her to pieces," his voice shifted into a sympathetic whisper that slowly lost the tension in Grief's state, "…but I don't hold anything against you just because you're with her."

He lowered his hand, and the flames moved from his palm to engulf Kagari's legs; her sisters gasped in alarm when she wailed in pain, but that changed into confusion when Dragon Slayer wasn't doing anything to stop him. To their amazement, Kagari's charred flesh was recovering bit by bit from the thighs down, the flames doing the opposite of what they expected.

"Not good…" Isaki grunted.

"What's wrong?" Grief asked.

The flames dispersed, leaving Kagari's legs still scorched from the knees down. "That's the best I can do," Isaki said, "I'm afraid her legs are beyond recovery."

"B-But didn't you get to heal the other burns?" Grief said fearfully, "Big brother, please! Can't you do anything else?"

"You'll be surprised how much punishment an angel's flames can inflict," Isaki answered grudgingly, "I only made sure the pain in her legs wouldn't sting any longer; I'm sorry, but she won't be using those legs of hers anymore."

He stood up and turned away, slowly walking towards Mephistopheles; the angel regarded him with a nod, folding his massive wings behind him and walking away.

Before Isaki could get out of hearing distance, a small voice behind him weakly croaked, "…thank you."

He turned his head to see Kagari feebly smiling at him. He gave no response, turning his attention back forwards and walking away.

Dragon Slayer hung her head in defeat; she had underestimated her opponent earlier simply because he was human, and she had paid the price of defeat and humiliation—something she felt would also have happened even if the angel hadn't arrived.

As the humans would say: Worst. Day. Ever.

* * *

><p><em>USS John F. Kennedy<em>

A council of war was being held within a large room, contained safely within the vast ship. Several men—military officers, to be specific, were seated around a large circular table, with a large image of the earth's map placed before them. Each of these men represented the military force of a major country, but the most noticeable of the all were seated right beside each other: the United States President himself, Barack Obama, and the Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta.

The map before them contained several spots which were marked with red, and even fewer ones marked with blue.

"Our satellites have detected large numbers of demons and angels alike entering our atmosphere, numbering in the millions." Said one of the men standing up, "the demons have already overrun major cities and settlements worldwide, their numbers extending even along the Poles. Despite their primitive nature, there's no denying the fact that their attacks appear to be carefully planned."

He pointed at a spot in the sea near San Francisco which was encircled with red, "At approximately 1330 hours, our troops in this area encountered a demonic species that we have never faced before. Several of our aircrafts carrying reinforcements were ambushed by aerial demons, wiping out the entire squadron."

"Have our dispatched units been informed of this new threat?" Asked one of the officers, a small hint of urgency evident in his tone despite his calm composure.

"Admiral, with all due respect—let me finish," The man continued, "Only an hour ago, we received information that we had found unsurprising, though rather odd: despite the large number of survivors still present, no demonic activity has been reported to occur in the city of Tokyo, Japan. A recent report from one of our troops currently in the city tells us the hostiles were wiped out by a third party."

Small murmurs of surprise were heard among the ones listening. The man approached a large screen facing the far end of the wall, producing a small tablet that doubled as remote. His tone grew steelier than before, making it sure what he was going to say next was going to be crucial information.

"As for who these unknowns are, we can be sure that they are definitely not simple mercenaries, vigilantes, or mere weapon enthusiasts." He entered a few commands into the tablet, and a recorded clip appeared on the large screen's display.

From what they could see, it appeared to be a video of a vast marble-white room. On one end of the room, two automated doors slid open, and two figures stepped out and into the area, walking away from each other and taking positions on opposite ends of the vast room.

Both of them wore skin-tight white plugsuits, small wires and contraptions covering their bodies on certain spots; only their complexion and shadows against the room's lights made them visible. One of them was a young, muscular Asian man, his hair tied in a small ponytail; the other occupant of the chamber, surprisingly, was a short, slim Black American girl, and her hair was tied into a bun.

"This footage was taken from one of our laboratories during a study," The man holding the tablet gestured at the man on the screen, saying, "This is Master Sergeant Isaki Tanaka, one of our top soldiers among the Ground units of the JASDF," he then pointed to the girl, "and this is Amaya Allison Heller, daughter of Sergeant James Heller, a soldier currently dispatched in Iraq."

"Excuse me, Major," One of the officers interrupted him and raised his hand, "Just what significance does this report hold in relation with our current predicament, exactly?"

The man turned his firm gaze toward him, replying, "What, you ask? These people," He said, pointing a finger at the screen behind him, "might be our only hope in tipping the balance of this war with the demons in our favor."

He moved away from the screen, allowing the gathered officers a full view of the record. A voice which clearly came from a loudspeaker filled the room in the video, announcing, _"Begin the analysis. Master Sergeant Tanaka, Miss Heller, proceed as instructed."_

Amaya sprinted towards Isaki at a speed that should never have been possible even for a human of her size and stature, drawing her right fist to strike. Isaki stood his ground and swatted her to the side with his right arm, ducking to avoid a kick aimed for his head. He delivered a strong punch that was immediately blocked, but the power exerted in his attack sent Amaya skidding away.

Amaya halted her wild slip when she punched right into the solid floor, eliciting gasps of surprise from the audience of officers. She launched herself towards Isaki again, drawing her right arm back for another punch, but when she threw her fist forwards, the arm was was already encased in a large mechanical appendage, the large limb of black metal appearing in a flash of gold light.

At this point some of the officers appeared to have misunderstood the situation. One of them stood, a large bald man with an evident Russian accent, "What are you even showing us? We gathered here to obtain reports of recent events and come to a consensus of action—_not _to watch some childish science-fiction footage!"

"This is _not _a mere hoax, Sir," the Major answered, glaring at the officer, "Please settle down and remain in your seat."

"Settle down?" he answered with acid in his voice, "Countless lands are being destroyed and captured as we speak, and even Moscow has already fallen to the demons' forces! You expect me to settle down when the rest of the world's survival is at stake?-!"

Before the Major could answer, another voice filled the room, its simple presence enough to quiet down the unnecessary squabble.

"I'll take it from here, Major," President Obama stood from his seat; when he concluded that everyone's attention was directed at him, he broke the tense silence. "I understand that this information has been disturbing and outright nonsensical; however, I can assure you: these beings are real, and the footage you have just witnessed is not the work of a professional animator."

"It was Master Sergeant Tanaka himself who revealed the existence of beings like himself on our world, and is the one who provided the information that has proven itself imperative to all of our previous operations against the demons," The President continued, "They call themselves the 'Other Selves' of man: they are real, they are powerful, and they have been living among us for countless generations."

President Obama paused before continuing, "However, Master Sergeant Tanaka has given a particular piece of intel about this race: they are a neutral party, and may decide to help with two options—whether they should conquer our world with the demons, or fight with us to save it."

"My decision is this," he began, "we must make sure that each and every evacuation center is safely secured. We will search for these Other Selves among military and civilians alike, and we must find a way to convince these beings to aid us in our cause." President Obama's voice was strong as he spoke, "These beings that walk among us may really be our best chance of tipping the scales in our favor."

A silent wave of agreement passed among the gathered officers. Much later, their silent contemplations were broken when a soldier with a panic-stricken face slammed the door open and burst into the room, carrying a few pieces of paper in his hands.

"Private Benjamin!" The Major barked, "You were all given orders not to disturb this meeting until further notice!"

"I-I apologize, sir!" the soldier stuttered, "But we just received an important piece of information from one of our officers in Tokyo!" He held up the papers in his hand, almost screaming, "This report states that there are nine actual Other Selves present in the city!"

* * *

><p>The sounds of battle grew louder as Yuu and company jogged closer cautiously towards the source. Mato and Yomi were flanked by Yuu, Mayuri, Yuki and Yusuke, being the only ones incapable of battle at the moment. When they got closer, the corpses of humans seemed to grow larger than the number of demons', and another sound grew louder as they approached: the terror-filled screams of humans, and loud, sinister laughter that was disturbingly feminine.<p>

Survivors were still around.

"Mayuri," Yuu said, grabbing her attention, "Can you communicate with your friends at this distance? We need to come up with something if we're going to be taking this thing down."

"_Hello? _Shorty, just _what _are we even up against? Seriously, you've been grinning like an idiot since we got into Akiba!" Yuki said crossly, sending a glare in Yuu's direction.

"Well, I'm just making sure you don't piss your pants once we meet this thing. C'mon Snowball, just keep your cool." Yuu replied, not bothering to look at Yuki, "After what happened at the mall in Kawasaki, I was thinking—"

Yuki's face flushed red, and she instantly sprang forward to clamp a hand over Yuu's mouth, cutting her off. Despite being behind her, Yuki could swear that Yuu had a big smirk on her face right now. She whispered threateningly in Yuu's ear, "I swear on my life, if you make a big deal out of this-you're dead."

"What's this about?" Yusuke asked.

"None of your business, private." Yuki replied, pointing her gun threateningly in his direction.

"Excuse me…"

All eyes turned to Mayuri, and Yuki inwardly sighed in relief. Mayuri momentarily fidgeted under the attention, but she kept her composure and said, "They're here."

"Who's here?" Mato asked.

As if in response, two figures dropped from the roof of a building across the street, cracking the concrete road when they landed. When the dust cleared, both turned out to be girls—most likely Mayuri's aforementioned comrades.

True, when they had seen the size and power of Mayuri's rifle, everyone else aside from Yuu had found the weapon to be utterly amazing in its own right. But aside from Mayuri and Yuu, everyone else fell stunned upon seeing the weapons that the two newcomers carried: one of them carried a massive sniper rifle, its scope large and blocky. Its barrel was long and shaped in an odd, blocky T-shape, but a single glimpse down its length revealed a spiraling interior—truly, this rifle was built to destroy at a distance.

The other girl wielded a colossal mini-gun, and under its revolving barrels was an enormous bayonet. Astonishingly, the girl only wielded the gigantic weapon with a single hand; the mini-gun had some sort of plated tube that connected to a large keg-shaped compartment(presumably where the weapon housed its ammunition) which she carried with her other hand, secured by a strap that hung from her shoulder.

Yuu was the first to step forward, making the two girls take a step back; it was clear that they were wary of her. Tense silence hung in the air despite the uproar of fighting, which included the suspicion directed at Yuu; she still hadn't explained how she knew Mayuri in the first place, neither did she explain her relations with the three gun-toting avatars of destruction.

"State your names," Yuu commanded, her voice carrying an air of authority.

The two seemed to flinch nervously, but the one carrying the immense sniper rifle composed herself first, stepping forward and standing rimrod-straight. She was a fairly tall girl with long dark hair that reached down to her waist, and her eyes possessed a strange unearthly color: an odd shade of pink tinged with metallic blue.

"Maid Gunner, Kurisu Makise," she said steadily.

The other girl had a peculiar shade of cherry-pink hair, styled into pigtails that twirled down to her waist. Her eyes bore the same color as her hair, and the way they gently glowed made it even clear how nervous she was in Yuu's presence.

She stepped forward edgily and gave a polite bow, "Underworld Vulcan, Rumiho Akiha."

Both were dressed in the same maid outfit as Mayuri: a white blouse fitted with a black vest secured with a corset, along with the usual apron and puffy black skirt, and a black frilly choker adorned with a small ribbon. Both were also wearing frilly headdresses and fake cat ears on their heads, obviously adding to the 'moe' look that the rampant otaku of this city loved so much.

"It's um… It's an honor to be in your presence once more, Black Hammer," Kurisu halfheartedly muttered.

Yuu groaned, and it almost seemed like the cause was from hearing that last statement. Mayuri gave off uneasy twitches that indicated that she really wanted to just be with her friends on the spot, but it was obvious that something was keeping her back; both Kurisu and Rumiho seemed to share the same sentiments.

Just what happened to these three that clearly involved Yuu—or, to be more specific, Strength?

Wait a sec, did that Kurisu just call Yuu 'Black Hammer?'

"You can breathe now," Yuu said, breaking the tension, "Anyway, Gunner and Vulcan: just what happened out there that had your asses handed to you?"

Kurisu, or Gunner, seemingly the most level-headed of the three, responded, "We were observing a group of evacuating survivors several minutes ago. We wanted to make sure that no stray demons would be able to go in for a kill. However, it turned out that two people among them, which I presume to be siblings, had been chosen as hosts."

"Let me guess: they're still in the middle of merging with their hosts, and there's no way you could have harmed it?" Yuu suggested.

"Yes."

"Well, I guess this'll be easy," Yuu said, turning her attention back to everyone else, "All we'll have to do is buy ourselves some time until they're finished."

"Explanations, please," Yusuke said, raising his free hand.

"Depending on how compatible an Other self is with his or her host, he or she will be granted a short time of total invulnerability," Kurisu answered, pausing for a while, "But the problem is…"

"The problem is that Geshumaru is using that time to annihilate any human it sees. We couldn't do a thing to stop it," Mayuri uttered.

"And since it was around survivors at the time…"

Yuki yelled, "Then there's no time to waste!"

Yusuke nodded, "I don't care how powerful this thing is, but we've got to take it down! What could possibly happen if it reaches an evac center?-!"

Yuu had been the only one who stayed calm throughout the entire exchange. Mayuri, Rumiho, and Kurisu directed their attention to her, Kurisu saying, "What are your orders?"

Yuu silently mulled over for a few seconds, with everyone's attention directed at her expectantly. Finally, she spoke, "Gunner, find yourself a spot distant and elevated enough for you to get precise shots without getting Geshumaru's attention." she said, then turning her attention to the two soldiers, "Yusuke and Snowball, stay on the sidelines. We need you to provide support and cover fire. Vulcan, you're coming with me. You're going to make it rain bullets on this big fucker, and I'll handle anything it tosses at us."

"Um…" Mayuri stepped forward, "What about me? What do I have to do?"

Yuu turned her head in her direction, making her shy away from her firm gaze. She walked over towards Mayuri, looking straight into her glowing green eyes, "Oh, nothing much." Yuu said sarcastically, "I'm just going to give the most important assignment to you."

"W-What is it?" Mayuri asked, knowing that denying Yuu would be futile.

"You're going to be protecting Mato and Yomi. Let anything happen to them, and you're dead."

Mayuri flinched before responding uneasily, "I'll d-do my best!"

"Okay then," Yuu said, turning towards everyone, "Let's get going, guys. Time to take one less threat from the world of the living."

* * *

><p><strong>*sigh* Summer school is totally slowing me down with everythin'. Q^Q<strong>

**Just when I thought things were going to be better….. *rage mode***

**I guess I should explain a few things; mainly the involvement and introduction of three characters from the sci-fi anime Steins;Gate into the story. **

**When this story was still in the process of being outlined, one of the topics me and my friends often talked about regarding this fanfiction were the identities I would give to certain Other Selves. **

**For example, when we first planned this, the BRS anime had not been released yet, so I had planned an OC to take the role of being Black Gold Saw's human counterpart; that is, until the anime revealed a certain teacher who I'm somewhat fanboying over(I've got a thing for older women… _;) to be the one for the job.**

**When I was working on concepts on the scenes for the events in Tokyo, the idea of letting three of my fave characters from Huke's artworks—Maid Gunner, Underworld Vulcan, and Demon Cannon User-participate in a battle came to mind. However, there was also the issue of what human-counterpart names to give each of them.**

**I discussed this subject with a few friends, and at first all we did was suggest names here and there, looking for ones that would fit those three. A few days later, an idea came to mind: the answer for a setback regarding Huke's original characters was **_**also**_** among Huke's works!**

**I had concluded that Kurisu Makise, Rumiho Akiha, and Mayuri Shiina would be perfect for this. Just think about it: those girls from Steins;Gate matched the girls from the BRS universe almost perfectly! Mayuri has Demon Cannon's eyes and hair, the same goes for Rumiho, though her hair is longer than Vulcan's, and aside from the eye and hair color, Kurisu and Gunner look too similar. Not only that, Huke had already depicted his characters from Steins;Gate in maid costumes. It kinda makes me wonder if Huke just based those three from his previous designs.**

**Oh, and I'm almost finished with a sketch I made of Isaki fighting Dragon Slayer. I'll put it up on my DA as soon as it's scanned~ **

**I sincerely hope you guys found this chapter enjoyable. :3**

**Later, people. 'till next time~!**


	13. Chapter 12: Gods Among Men part 1

**More. Than. One. Fukken. MONTH.**

**Dear Lord, even by Fanfiction's 'lazy author' standards I'd say that's a bit too much. ;_;**

**Once again, I apologize for another late update. Ideas **_**have **_**been swimming around my head lately, but frankly I just didn't have the motivation to write anything until getting to check out some awesome sh1t(the Avengers movie & TakerFoxx's latest update on IM lol).**

**Not only that, school's just right around the corner for us over here, and the fact that my school places **_**too**_** many restrictions on us means that I'll have less than a few hours to work on this every week. I'll try my best to keep a constant pace with this 'fic though. xC**

**Anyways, I just noticed that I already included too many sides to this story, composed of:**

***Mato, Yuu, Yomi, etc.**

***Isaki, Meph, etc.**

***Wyler & Lily Gibson**

***BRS**

***Irino Saya/BGS vs Deathscythe**

***DM**

***The Apostles**

***big red guy**

***and just recently, President Obama & military personnel.**

…**so I guess I'll just divide this chapter into two parts.**

**I'll save the fighting for the other half of this chapter-which will likely/hopefully be released at an earlier date than usual. Enjoy~**

* * *

><p>Dead Master was within her own personal library, which, unknown to her, had once been the final battleground between two fierce combatants. She was sitting on one of the cubes that served as furniture, her eyes taking in the words from a book set on her lap.<p>

Or would have, if her head wasn't presently occupied with troubling thoughts. If she still didn't understand why Yomi hated her so much before, she definitely did now. What she had recently learned from the words that Mato had said made something very, very clear: something or someone had corrupted Yomi more than a year ago—one wearing her face, at that.

What distressed her was that if she actually was the one responsible, she couldn't remember doing such a thing; neither did she believe she would even think of doing something like that to Yomi, of all people.

But unlike Yomi or Mato, there was one person Dead Master could turn to for answers. The question was, however: how was she going to get her attention? Not only that, how would she know if that person would be one for open conversations?

She didn't know that both of those questions would be answered at the same time…

Neither did she expect it to happen now.

The sound of a large explosion filled her ears, jolting her out of her reverie. Then came another, then another, each blast sending a small shower of dust and debris. It only took a fraction of a second for her to realize that the disturbance came from above her—_directly _above her.

The dome-shaped ceiling fell apart following the next blast, large chunks of concrete threatening to bury her alive. The sight gave Dead Master a momentary pang of déjà vu; she hastily picked up the book she was reading and rolled out of the way, just in time for the fragments of the ceiling to crash into the spot where she used to stand.

Dead Master gaped at the huge dust cloud that was created by the crash, slowly standing up and dusting away some of the dust that had gotten on her clothes. Despite the knowledge that she wouldn't really die from something like that even if she stood still, any living being that still existed in this world might agree with her current thoughts: no matter how excruciating, how disconcerting, how sudden, how shameful it would be-dying always sucks.

When she heard the small noise of something shifting, Dead master slowly approached the pile of rubble; she took slow, steady steps, clutching the book tightly in her arms as if it could protect her from anything. Then, suddenly, she froze in place. She didn't know how it instantly happened, but she immediately realized that she just escaped one near-death situation… only to walk into another one.

The tip of a sword was uncomfortably pressed against her throat; but what scared her more was the one handling the ebony blade.

"So, you really are back…" Black Rock Shooter said, her voice plain and cold.

* * *

><p>When Mayuri had been told to keep an eye on Mato and Yomi, she didn't really expect the whole thing to be <em>pretty <em>uneventful. She had half-heartedly expected some epic warzone where she'd give her all to keep them out of harm's way, unloading every clip she had on the bad guy or maybe just take the hit; but _no, _it actually meant she had to keep them as far away from Geshumaru as she could without leaving the city.

Simple words might not be able to describe how much her trigger finger was itching. Her entire race lived for battle; not sitting around when a battle of titanic proportions was presently underway!

So, she had to admit, she wasn't sure if she was relieved or nervous when Mato decided to start a conversation. But of course, soon enough, Mayuri almost couldn't believe that the cheerful, lively girl was the alter ego of the Otherworld's most infamous, mysterious individual.

"So, Shiina," Mato said, sitting cross-legged on a large slab of concrete. "How about we talk about Yuu?"

"Just call me Mayuri, Bla- I mean Mato…" Mayuri replied, "And, uh… that's the name of Strength's former host, right?"

"'Kay, Mayuri," Mato said, grinning, "And yeah, Yuu Koutari it is." Mato scooted a little closer, "So, Mayuri, what's the big deal with your friends and our Yuu? You guys really looked like you were gonna wet yourselves."

"Mato, that was rather rude," Yomi chided her friend.

"We… did?" Mayuri asked, somewhat ignoring Mato's remark. Mato simply replied with a nod and Mayuri replied sheepishly, "Well, we just, uh… we respect her, that's all."

"I do have to agree with Mato, though," Yomi uttered, "It really looked like you three were afraid of Yuu. I have no idea how this works, but did something happen between you guys and Strength back then?"

Before Mayuri could answer, Mato raised a hand and said, "I got another question. I also noticed that Gunner chick call Yuu 'Black Hammer.' Was that a title given to her?"

"She never told you about that?" Mayuri answered, a hint of disappointment in her tone.

"About what?"

"Her title."

"Hmm…." Mato said, scratching her cheek, "nah, I don't think she did. What's it mean anyway?"

"It's quite a long story," Mayuri sighed, "But put simply, the title 'Black Hammer' was given to her because, believe it or not, Strength _was_, and probably still _is_ the greatest blacksmith of our race."

"The _what_?-!" Mato exclaimed.

"Yu- um, Strength was a blacksmith?" Yomi said, "But she doesn't—"

"She doesn't look like anyone who would be good at smithy?" Mayuri finished for her, awkwardly saying, "That's what I thought when we met her for the first time, too. But when I got info about her ancestry, I guess her being a blacksmith wasn't too much of a surprise."

"I ain't entirely convinced!" Mato said, pouting like an idiot, "Our Yuu is a sporty little kid with a responsible side! We've known her for some time, so I can tell you that Yuu-chan isn't one for art!"

Yomi, seemingly ignoring her friend's childishness, noted a certain word from Mayuri's statement. "Strength's ancestry? What does that have to do with her being a blacksmith?"

"She never told you guys about that too?"

"We didn't get to learn much about her," Yomi said, "We only knew about Yuu's Other Self yesterday, actually."

"I see…" Mayuri muttered, "Okay then, I'll try to elaborate. Have you ever heard of the 'Makers?'"

"Yes, I think Yuu told us a handful of details about them," Yomi replied.

"Basically she just told us that they were overly-buff giants," Mato said, "What do those guys have to do with this?"

"That's about right… Anyway, Makers, as their name suggests, are the best craftsmen of the worlds beyond the humans'. Their large bodies and general creativity make them the best choice in hired architecture, engineering, weapon crafting, and so forth. Not only that, Makers are usually friendly, so they're easy to bargain or get along with. People make sure never to cross one though; messing with a Maker is like picking a fight with the Hulk."

Yomi, being the brighter side of the coin(in their case, a triangle), easily found a somewhat relatable subject. "Like the Oni?"

"Well, if Makers had weird skin color, then yes," Mayuri said.

"So…" Mato tilted her head to the side a little, an inquiring look etched on her face, "You're saying that a Maker kinda like, trained Strength?"

"It would make sense if that were the case," Yomi agreed.

Mayuri shook her head. "Not exactly. I'm saying that Strength, the Black Hammer, _is_ a Maker."

Mato screamed something incoherent, but Yomi, always the calmer, more mature member of their small circle of friends, simply said, "I'm not trying to offend you, Miss Mayuri, but that doesn't seem to be all too possible."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, we were told that Other Selves, and _only_ Other Selves, have the capability to obtain a human host; we've been told that other beings who attempt to do so often end up destroying themselves in the process. From this information, it's rather odd for us to think that Strength is what you say she is."

"EEeeeh?" Mayuri uttered in disappointment, "Why would it _not _make sense? The Black Hammer is a half-breed, you know."

Something about that statement made both Mato and Yomi snap back to a certain issue that they had just recently. "W-Wait just a sec, so making babies with someone isn't just limited to somebody's racial type?" Mato asked.

"Well, yeah," Mayuri replied, oblivious to their dilemma, "It happens with humans too, right? Half-breeds are a little hard to find, but they're not exactly uncommon."

"Mayuri… may I ask you another question?" Yomi said, her voice strangely wary.

Mayuri, not noticing the tone in Yomi's voice, answered, "Sure, go ahead. What else'd you like to know?"

"Have you ever heard of an Other Self with the title of 'Dead Master?'" Yomi asked. Mato suddenly tensed at the mention of the name, directing her attention at Mayuri.

Mayuri scratched her head for a few seconds, mulling over some information in her head. She later exclaimed, "Oh, I think I've heard of that name before…!"

"What do you know about her?" Yomi asked.

"Dead Master's a 'she?' Um, about that… just bits and pieces, actually," Mayuri sheepishly replied. She only later realized what had led this conversation in this direction, however. "Oh, is this about Dead Master being a half-breed?"

"Is she?" Mato asked.

"Well, yeah," Mayuri answered, "From what I've heard, people also avoid her because she's a half—"

Yomi cut her off. "A half-Darkling…"

Mayuri was somewhat surprised, saying, "Whoa, how'd you know? Was it Strength?"

"Just a lucky guess," Yomi answered, gritting her teeth.

"Um, anyway," Mato started, knowing that taking the subject in this direction wouldn't end well, "Like we asked earlier, if you guys respect her so much, then why are you guys scared of Yuu?"

Mayuri was silent for a while before held out her rifle, answering, "The Black hammer is the one who crafted these. I guess we never really expressed it once, but we are very, very grateful that she made them for us."

Mato ended up gawking before she said, "W-Wha? Can't say that's a good reason for you guys to be afraid of her…"

Mayuri sighed and stood up, brushing off the dust from her skirt. She turned to Mato and said, "If you'd like to know one of the two reasons why we try not to get on her bad side, how about we check her fight with Geshumaru at a safe distance?"

Mato nodded and she stood along with Yomi, following Mayuri as she paced over towards the stairs of a building's fire exit. Mato caught up to her and asked, "What's your other reason, then?"

Mayuri seemed to stiffen for a moment before she sighed and answered, "Well…" she chuckled agitatedly, "…we never really paid her in full."

* * *

><p>Isaki and the others had managed to find a spot safe enough for them to rest for the night, which to their discomfort was the basement of an apartment complex. Mephistopheles, claiming that he didn't need to rest at the moment, volunteered to keep watch. Saika had already gone to sleep using a spare cot they found in a storage room, but Connor had refused to take a break until he had heard Isaki's story.<p>

It turned out that Isaki had already planned on telling him that day, Theodore having already known the details of Isaki's situation with the military.

"So basically," Connor muttered, "All these attacks by the demons have been going on for months now, you gave the military info on how to deal with them, you're some superhuman with pyrokinesis, you let military scientists study about what makes you tick and you're actually _related_ with that chick that you came across earlier?"

"Not by blood," Mephistopheles said, "Only by soul. That's literally speaking, by the way."

"Can't exactly understand how that's possible," Connor said, then directing his gaze at the tall angel, "What about you? If you're not screwing around and you really _are _an archangel, then…" he sighed, "I'm not trying to piss you guys off, but shouldn't you be out directing your featherbrained buddies against those uglies instead of helping out a few 'mortals?'"

"I wasn't trying to help you," Mephistopheles answered bluntly, then pointing at Saika, "I'm trying to protect the girl."

"Why?" Theodore asked, "We're grateful for what you did, but Saika's just an ordinary girl."

"Haven't you tried connecting the dots, Theodore?" the angel sighed, "Yes, young Saika is just a child, but you seem to be forgetting that she is _Isaki's._ You people have been keeping an actual half-breed in your care, and haven't even noticed; from the abilities that her father has demonstrated to be capable of, I have every reason to believe that Saika possesses a power that could be crucial to the advantage of a faction in this war."

"What are you trying to do, then," Connor asked accusingly, "try to bring Saika to your party so you can use her?"

"Do you humans often accuse others before even knowing the details?" Mephistopheles shook his head. "No such thing. I'm here to make sure she doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

"Meph, dude," Connor interrupted, "You sure you're not just screwing around with us?"

"Haven't you had enough with your accusations, Connor?" the angel answered in annoyance.

"Why would you even try helping us protect Saika?" Connor asked in irritation, "Me and Isaki are more than enough—I'm skilled at physical combat and with guns, and Isaki's a Master Sergeant who just happens to be an overprotective, fire-bending, muscle-bound force of nature. Why bother?"

Before either side could say anything else, Isaki butted in, getting their attention. "Connor's right. There's gotta be more than this that what you're telling us," Isaki gave Mephistopheles a hard glare, "And angels-_especially_ archangels-aren't exactly popular with my kind."

"You mean _the_ _one _within you," the angel returned the look, "You merely overwhelmed your Other Self and obtained his abilities, powers, and memories; but when it comes down to it, you are just a simple human soldier—nothing more, nothing less."

Theodore was already getting nervous from the thick tension in the air, and even adding to it was how small embers of flame were sparking from Isaki and Mephistopheles' bodies—Isaki's red and Mephistopheles' blue.

"Guys, cut it out," Theodore uneasily said, "Fighting won't get us anywhere! We're all on the same team, so can't you guys just try to get along?"

"You guys didn't see what he did, Teddy," Isaki said, "Remember those kids that the woman was with? Mephisto here tried to blast them out of the way when they tried to protect her. How do you expect me to take it easy when this guy's around?"

Mephistopheles' glare intensified, his blue eyes burning even brighter. "Compassion has _no place_ in a war, Isaki. You know more than anyone else what those girls are capable of!"

"They weren't even capable of defending themselves!"

"They are our enemies!"

"They were my sisters!"

Connor and Theodore were both surprised at the statement, but before they could try asking about it Mephistopheles grabbed Isaki by the collar and brought him to eye level.

"They are sisters you already abandoned!" The tall angel shouted in his face, "If you can't acknowledge that fact, you never should have left the Dragon Slayer's influence in the first place!"

Isaki shoved Mephistopheles away, letting the angel release him; Mephistopheles staggered backwards a few steps from him, immediately maintaining his balance.

"I already told you: they've got _nothing_ to do with what's between me and Dragon Slayer."

"And then _what_," Mephistopheles said, "If you really _did_ manage to kill the Dragon Slayer back there, what do you think would happen? Those children would be estranged against you, finding themselves unable to believe that their big brother himself killed their own mother. You know that the Other Selves possess a strong sense of kinship; even if you are their brother, do you really believe that they would hesitate trying to kill you if they had the chance?"

If looks could kill, the glare Isaki was giving the angel would have literally burned him a dozen times over. "You know _nothing_ about how they are, angel."

"Daddy?"

All eyes turned in Saika's direction, the small girl rubbing her eyes tiredly. Everything almost immediately fell into an awkward silence. The little girl groggily strode over to her father, her small hand limply balled into a fist to beat against Isaki's leg with all the force of a stuffed ball against a tank.

Saika lifted her half-closed eyes to stare at Isaki's and she pouted, "You and Uncle Mephie were…" a small yawn interrupted her words, "really… noisy. Why were you fighting?"

Just then, an idea sprang to life in Isaki's head. It was plainly simple—somewhat clever, if not cheating; but if he wanted to know more, he thought, then it was worth a shot.

He allowed himself to relax for a moment before answering, "It's nothing, Saika. We were just asking Meph here why he decided to help in the first place."

Mephistopheles immediately caught on to the subtle hit. "H-Hey, that is _not_ fair play—"

"Really?" Saika asked obliviously, "What did he say?"

'_Bullseye,'_ Isaki thought, inwardly grinning, "He was just about to tell me."

"Isaki…" the angel muttered dangerously, giving Isaki a look that entirely spelled 'I'll get you for this!'

When Saika turned her attention towards Mephistopheles with eager eyes, he knew he couldn't refuse giving her the reply to a question he didn't want to answer. He was _definitely_ going to get her Dad back for this.

The angel resigned himself to the situation after a few moments, telling himself in his head that this was probably going to be one step in getting these people to trust him.

"I…" Mephistopheles let out a sigh, "I just thought that maybe, just _maybe_, you and your Dad would be able to help me with my problem, Saika."

"Problem?" Saika asked, puzzled, "But what can I do?"

"It's because you're special. Your Dad has abilities beyond what a normal human can do; so I was assuming that you also may have something than can help."

"What's wrong? Did your Xbox get ruined? Daddy was pretty disappointed when that happened. Or was it a Playstation?"

Mephistopheles raised a brow. "No, nothing like that…" He hesitated for a moment, then reminded himself that he had already gone this far anyway. "I'm looking for someone. Someone I've been searching for a long time."

Saika's childish fantasy kicked in. "Oh, is it your long-lost lover?"

The reddening of the angel's face and the slight cringe he gave was more than enough of an indication that the answer was probably a 'yes.'

All the hostility that Connor and Isaki were directing at the angel had already disappeared by the time Saika showed up; having already been toned down, the blonde sputtered a laugh and said, "Seriously, Meph?"

Mephistopheles shot back, "H-Hey, I didn't even say yes!"

Theodore sighed in relief. Thank God even someone who gave an impression of being a jerk had a soft spot for kids. "It could have helped if you said you were looking for your girlfriend in the first place, you know."

The angel replied, "That obnoxious excuse for a woman is _not_ my girlfriend— Wait, what? How is this information supposed to help?"

Theodore snickered, "Let's just say that a certain someone would be willing to help with a Labor of Love."

"Let's just drop the subject for now and get some rest," Isaki sighed, ignoring the confused looks he was getting for deciding to end the issue on such a note, "We've still got a long day ahead of us."

Mephistopheles felt a finger tapping his shoulder, turning his head to see Theodore beside him. The man whispered faintly, "It's a touchy subject, but I'd say he owes you one anyway. Just ask him about it when you're alone," he continued, "Let's all just simmer down and take a break. There'll be more time for interrogation in the morning."

* * *

><p>"Isn't everyone here?"<p>

Among the original fifteen that had gathered during their previous assembly, only eleven were present at the moment. However, unlike last time, the head of the operation had decided against using the Realm of Shadows as a place for them to gather, stating that the place lacked too much vigor—which almost anyone would say about the damned place. Everything was toned in gray, anyway.

They had all gathered in a small conference room, obviously abandoned due to the ongoing state of chaos the world was in. Several documents were left scattered on the marble-white floor, and a section of the wall had caved in. All in all it was quite unfit even for a small conference, yet it was a better alternative than the previous meeting place.

"Have the others not completed their tasks?" Asked the same feminine voice. It was a wonder how or why she was present in a form that could only be described as a small wisp of eerie magenta flame, casually hovering over the seat that was obviously used by the heads of meetings held in this room.

"The others had a bit of a hard time looking for their targets," One of the members answered, a young man with an unnatural shade of ashen white hair; a noticeable black streak ran through the right side of his pallid locks. His eyes glowed a deep green color and he had a pale tan complexion. A noticeably large, intricately designed silver bow was strapped to the back of his black leather jacket, its features giving off a bright gleam whenever the smallest ray of light would touch it.

"I don't see the small one anywhere," Spoke another. It was obvious from his voice alone that this was the same one who had stayed rather composed throughout their previous gathering-Genocide. He was a middle-aged, muscular man, with some of his long white hair comfortably set in a ponytail. He was wearing a black suit over a white shirt with a necktie, but he obviously didn't need it to show that he meant business; the stern look in his pale eyes and well-built features was more than enough for that.

Genocide turned his attention towards the wisp of flame. "You didn't give her any extra tasks to accomplish, did you? Not like you gave her any in the first place."

The young man from earlier gave an exasperated sigh. "Deceit said she wanted to visit that place in Tokyo with all the anime-related shit."

Genocide rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "Couldn't her little excursion wait until later? We have more pressing matters at the moment!"

To their bemusement, the small wisp of flame merely gave a chuckle. "It is alright. We can just let the child enjoy herself for now. Besides, she is likely to believe that even Tokyo would not last long." After a few seconds the flame burned brighter, and its voice grew somewhat serious despite having a tone of calmness. "Now, let us get down to business. Aside from Genocide, have the rest of you completed your respective tasks?"

"We wouldn't be here if we didn't, now would we?" A gruff voice said impolitely; it came from what was noticeably one hulking monstrosity of a man, his muscles even larger than a Phantom Guard demon's. Shoulder-length amber-blonde hair framed his large features along with stubble running along his face. From his height and build, it was quite a wonder how he even found clothes in his size. He was leaning on a corner of the room with his bulky arms crossed, a stern look etched on his face.

"You have a point," The wisp said, almost as if to agree with his words, "But something just tells me that someone here was not able to achieve what was expected of them."

A certain woman seated rather distant from the speaker flinched.

The simple action didn't go by unnoticed. "Oh? I never would have expected it to be you, Dragon Slayer."

Genocide frowned, sending a glare in Dragon Slayer's direction. "You must be joking. You're not implying that a mere _human_ bested you in battle, are you?"

The looks of disappointment and ridicule sent in her direction infuriated Dragon Slayer in such a way that she could have snapped and unleashed her sanctimonious fury on them all; but what kept her back was the fact that these people could and _would_ end her should she ever try doing so like a school of piranhas against a helpless beast. Not only that, her fierce pride as a warrior would not let herself give in to something as insignificant as simple humiliation.

She simply settled for glaring right back at them, not letting them chip off more of her dignity as a fighter. "The human's victory was more than just a fluke," she said, "I could have found some other way to overwhelm him had not our host here provided me with a bout of misinformation."

"Really?" The wisp said, a hint of amusement in its feminine voice, "Then would you be so kind as to tell me where I went wrong with my explanations?"

Dragon Slayer set her amber eyes straight at the wisp, saying, "You told me that I would not have any difficulty with defeating him," She glowered at the wisp, snarling, "Guess what? The human soldier was far more skilled than I had expected, despite you saying that he 'has never taken the liberty to use his new abilities'."

"Is that it?"

"What are you saying?" Dragon Slayer asked, rather insulted by the composed tone the wisp was using on her.

"I'm quite disappointed, Dragon Slayer. As someone who is known for her cunning, I had expected you to improvise despite the odds set against you." A small puff that sounded oddly like a sigh was heard, and the wisp continued, "No matter. I will grant you something as compensation for your loss; hopefully you won't 'screw up'—as the humans would say—in your second attempt."

"It better be worth it," Dragon Slayer growled.

"Anyway, let us continue," The wisp said, seemingly directing its attention back at them, then at the young man earlier, "How about you?"

"Got what you asked for," He said, reaching behind him to detach the bow from its strap, then placing the large weapon before him for the wisp to see(at least that's how he put it; how does something without eyes see anyway?).

The large bow was noticeably peculiar, but it definitely appeared to be one formidable weapon. An indent in the handle indicated where the weapon looked like it could be separated into two—seeing as the curves of the bow were actually blades, you probably didn't go through enough fictional stories in the fantasy genre if you couldn't tell that the bow could be separated into twin swords. 'Flashy' was definitely one word to describe it; the silver weapon glinted in the light so much it might as well have been glowing on its own, and small nubs on each of its handles held a small crescent insignia.

There was also something else about the great bow: a strange aura seemed to emanate from it, and it gave anyone the impression that somehow, the weapon was alive and staring right back at you.

"You said I could keep this if I somehow managed to take it, right?" The young man asked. Though he felt somewhat uncomfortable due to being exposed to the weapon for quite some time, he didn't exactly mind having it around despite the fact that he felt like the bow was going to spring to life and mince him itself. If only they knew…

"Of course. It is your trophy, after all." The wisp said, its tone giving a small indication of being entranced by the bow. "It is quite a sight. How did you manage to acquire such a fine piece of work?"

"Actually, this baby's a 'she,'" He said with pride, "Whoever placed this beauty in that dungeon had a damn good reason to jack up security; calling it a 'work of art' just feels like an understatement."

"You seem rather delighted with… her," the wisp said, "It feels like the next thing you would do is give 'her' a name."

"She already has one."

"Oh?"

"It was written in one of those ancient human alphabets," He said, "'Course, seeing the name pretty much explains everything about its appearance, including the answer to why I think it hates me—Artemis."

He was interrupted by a rather snide remark from a woman who was sitting not too far from him. "Too bad you'll have nowhere to stick it in when you're in the mood."

He glared straight at her, scowling, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Before the woman could voice a reply the wisp muttered affably, "I sense envy in the air~"

Genocide heaved a sigh of annoyance. "Would you _please _stop acting like children?"

"They are, aren't they?"

"That is beside the point."

"Anyway, let's get back on track. What about you?" The wisp asked, addressing the woman who had spoken: she was a tall, shapely woman, dressed in a black jacket over a purple shirt that looked like it was a size too small along with a pair of tight jeans. She wore a cowboy hat over her shoulder-length lavender hair, and her bright violet eyes held an allure that seemed like it could bewitch anyone—the people currently around her being exceptions.

The woman grinned. "Era demasiado fácil. It won't be long until those demons reach the bunker where the Professor and his esposa are being held."

Genocide raised a brow. "You don't mean Professor Gibson, do you?"

"Yep."

Genocide turned towards the wisp, asking, "Are you certain about this? If even a few demons discover an evacuation center, its human soldiers standing guard won't stand a chance against them. And from what I know, the Professor's wife has just given birth to their first child—"

"Once again, your concern is unnecessary, Brother," the wisp replied, "I simply let Lust here set things up for a small performance."

"Then let's hope things go as you have planned," he conceded, "There's no telling what might happen if the demons were to slay the couple—both can be crucial to our advantage due to what they know."

"You have my thanks."

The wisp continued to address the other members of their assembly one by one, each time expressing its appreciation for each small victory. She attended to them until reaching the last two—one of which was the blonde goliath who had spoken earlier, the other a rather composed woman with an air of serenity.

Despite the woman's formal attire—an outfit that set her into the 'pretty secretary' category—just looking at her(in a man's case) seemed to just provide a decent amount of eye candy. Her shoulder-length, golden-blonde hair was tied into a ponytail, with some of it styled into an elegant twirl framing the side of her face; calm, amber eyes peered from behind a pair of black-rimmed glasses, attentively observing. Strangely, despite the incredibly obvious contrast between her and the large man, their visages possessed a rather noticeable similarity.

"We've done our job," The woman nodded, "The capture of the being that you assigned for us was incredibly difficult; but when we finally succeeded, it was as you said—the boundaries separating the many separate worlds have weakened, and the demons have increased their numbers greatly."

The wisp spoke with approval in its voice, "Excellent. You have done superbly well, my brethren. I will send you a summons should I require your presence another time. On a closing note: for those concerned, why don't you take a short break and visit the Otherworld one last time? I'm afraid our old home won't last much longer."

* * *

><p>Similarly to the previous meeting, Dragon Slayer had stayed behind when everyone else had left. All that remained were her and the wisp, with the former standing in front of the latter with her arms crossed.<p>

A shaft of blue energy appeared in front of Dragon Slayer, almost surprising her. The bright vertical ray stood in place for several seconds before disappearing in a haze of mist. In its place was a large piece of crystal, but on closer inspection in turned out to be made of ice.

"What is this?" Dragon Slayer asked.

"My compensation for the loss you suffered."

Dragon Slayer scoffed, "What am I supposed to do with it? You expect me to just fling this thing at that Isaki and he'd just fall? You must be joking."

As if to prove her wrong, the ice slowly began to break. The fractures then suddenly spread throughout its frame, glowing before shattering the ice into pieces. Dragon Slayer flinched and shielded herself from the bursting object before slowly redirecting her attention to it.

Where the ice used to be was what appeared to be three large, circular collars made of black metal, each one connected to large, black chains that linked to a metal ring. The object gave of a cold aura, eerily colder than the ice in which it was encased in.

"This is…" Dragon Slayer muttered.

"The collar of Cerberus itself. Use it well, Sister." The wisp said.

"I'm no weapons analyst, but I know the Cerberus' collar can only be used by three individuals at once," Dragon Slayer said, glaring at the wisp, "You're not suggesting that I let—"

"Grief, Misery, and Pain; from your children—or perhaps our entire race, even-they are the most capable of using the Cerberus to the extent of its power."

"I will not risk having my children involved!" Dragon Slayer barked, "Anguish already suffered an incurable injury because of this!"

"You don't have a choice. The human soldier appears to be more resilient to defeat than what was expected, Dragon Slayer."

Dragon Slayer kicked the Cerberus away, stomping closer towards the wisp. She could have sworn that if it had a face, she would smack it so hard for all it was worth. "Have you forgotten the rules that make up the very honor of our race? I would rather fail a thousand times fighting as a real warrior, rather than defy our code just for a single false victory!"

"And many have flouted that code," the wisp replied, "What you are to do will not make a difference."

The Cerberus was suddenly jerked upwards by some unseen force, the weapon then roughly shoved against Dragon Slayer; it seemed obvious that the wisp was responsible.

"Take it, Sister," the wisp said dangerously, "Don't make me say it twice."

Dragon Slayer shoved it back. "I have my pride."

"You have your pathetic excuse for 'motherly love'." The wisp replied, "I doubt masochism is ever a good habit to instill in children's heads…"

Before she could reply, Dragon Slayer crumpled to her knees as an overwhelming pain filled her whole body. It was terrible, indescribable pain, a sensation so horrible she felt like a heavy, spiked ball was forcibly stabbed into her stomach while it writhed around. She cried out in absolute agony as she spasmed uncontrollably on the ground, the pain entirely unlike anything she had ever experienced.

The horrendous pain disappeared a few seconds later, with Dragon Slayer breathing heavily as she lay on the ground. She managed to send an acidic glare towards the wisp, who was entirely unconcerned about her condition.

"Consider yourself lucky I didn't kill you," It spoke, its tone plainly cold, "Take this as a small warning, Sister: I can either let you suffer for as long as I want, or end your life as quickly as a thought; but I will not, as you are too valuable to kill. Now take the Cerberus—and never raise your voice against me again."

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><p><strong>Random note: A buddy of mine pointed out that Chariot's spider-mecha resembles a Corpser from Gears of War, an awesome game that HUKE is a fan of~<strong>


	14. Author's Notes

Hello.

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><p>One common thing I've noticed about Author "announcements" is that the first thing that comes into the audience's heads is the disappointing suspicion that the author plans on either putting their fanfiction in an even longer hiatus, or decide to end it altogether.<p>

Well, just let me say that I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT HAVE ANY PLANS TO STOP WRITING THIS FANFICTION DESPITE MY SLUGGISH PACE WITH UPDATING.

This little project has been a work in progress for more than a year, and I don't want to send the effort I've placed into this down the drain, especially when I've come so far… Meh, scratch the last one. This damn story isn't even halfway done. xD;

To the readers that have taken time to pay attention to this little memo of mine, I sincerely apologize for the freakishly long delay. However, now that I've finally figured out why updating is rather slow, I might finally get the right kick I need to speed things up.

_Might._

Why is my writing so slowly, anyway? That's a question that I've been trying to figure out myself for so long until recently…

*Is it unmotivation? Nope. I always make sure I either read/watch something that's borderline epic to get my blood pumping so I can write better.

*Laziness? No. One thing I know about myself is that I get restless when I'm not doing anything. Doodling, sketching, reading, gaming, whatever. Heck, I do chores so often that it's become a habit. (Imma gud gui :D)

*Lack of time? Nuh. Schoolwork does take one huge chunk out of my time, but I've already set a personal schedule for myself so I can always find time to do the things I want to do/usually do. Y'know, like reading a book, trying to go through a boss fight, or how many minutes I should spend with… certain people at the mall.

By the way, to any girl reading this, please don't EVER take us guys to a clothing store. It's a boredom-filled nightmare that includes the feeling that the eyes of every other female in the store is on you! I swear just being there makes me paranoid!

*(clears throat) Back on track. Is it a lack of ideas? Definitely a huge NO. Thing is, I've already sorted out in my head how an upcoming chapter should go. I already have most of a scene written out in mental text, so I all I need to do is take out the desktop/laptop and start typing away.

So then… WHY IN ALL NINE HELLS IS MY PROGRESS SO SLOW?! Dx

The answer came to me one day when I did nothing but watch Ying-san's BRS shimejis messing around the screen. (u ain't a reel BRS fan til yuh get one o' zese! Gettem on Ying-san's bloggie~! Get all of 'em! [btw Ying-san=Ying fa Xang, in case ya didn't know. ;D] )

It's simple: I get distracted… Too. Freakin. Easily.

Guys, I seriously need advice with this condition of mine. If any of you knows what I should do so I can focus on one thing and one thing alone, please tell me! Now that I know that I'm like this, it's getting even worse! HELP MEH. I-I'll give you a shoutout, or a sketch made by me! (I draw gud, I swear!) Anything to stop this madness… ;A;

* * *

><p>Well, now that that's taken care of, it's time to start announcements regarding Stars through Darkness!<p>

-As some may have noticed, the prologue has changed. I just decided to go with a canon character. Don't ask why, though. I don't know either.

-After reading the earlier chapters, it reminded me of how huge the gaps between each chapter were. I saw how different my writing was back then, which was something I'm not too proud of anymore… So, I'm planning on having some of the earlier chapters rewritten. For those who don't wanna bother retracing back, don't worry. The changes I'm going to make only involve lengthening the details I've placed into those chapters, so the plot still basically flows in the same direction. Rest assured this won't take too long, and the story will go on as usual. (may or may not be executed)

-After rereading the earlier chapters, I finally received the answer to a question that has been bugging me for a while concerning Mato. I had actually planned a certain little dilemma for her to go through, one involving BRS. No, it's not the one involving her identity. It's something a little more… let's say complicated. I'm going to have to edit chapter 9 again so I can include this. (._. )

[The following message was written on 10/28/12 at approximately 02213 hours.]

-The next update to the story will be a double update, as a bit of compensation for the long wait I put the readers through. It was originally intended to be one huge update, but I just decided to cut it for no apparent reason other than to increase the chapter count. (hehehe) Which basically means Gods Among men will be split into three parts. Blah de blah blu.

New chappies are finished. All I need to do now is proofread everything a couple times, so they should be up in a few days.

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><p>Oh, and here's a shoutout for FF users Tachibana Wish and TheMIB! Ya deserve credit for taking the time trying to solve the boring puzzles I placed into the story~ xDDDD<p>

I'm going to be adding another hint in the next two chapters. Le clue: afterlife. Good luck finding it.

P.S. One does not simply trust Microsoft Word's grammar "correction" tool.


	15. Chapter 13: Gods Among Men part 2

**Here's hoping that these two chapters will be enough to keep you guys occupied 'till I post the next one. Enjoy~**

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><p>It had been a few hours since Dragon Slayer had been arbitrarily forced to accept the Cerberus, but even her regenerative abilities had not restored her body to a state suitable for even the slightest twitch of her finger; whatever that cagey bitch had done to her, it had definitely done more damage than her herculean resistance could take.<p>

Dragon Slayer had been stuck in the same position on the floor since then, settling for glaring at the cryogenic weapon lying a few feet away from her. Though most of her children had been separated from her during their time in the Otherworld, she knew that almost each one had faced their fair share of battles and were more than capable of defending themselves; but here in the physical realm she did not want to risk losing a single one.

Sure, Anguish may have not been the best fighter among her children, but she had felt somewhat more attached to the psychologically impaired girl more than most, and her daughter's recent injury had been as much as an insult to her honor as it was a trigger for her to go Godzilla on her enemies—if she hadn't been beaten to within an inch of her life, that is.

On a not-so-pleasant note, the Cerberus would definitely be useful if she wanted to enact a roaring rampage of revenge on that shit stain called Isaki and that one bastard of an archangel for making things personal.

She would just have to do her homework when she had recovered enough, though; making up crucial battle strategies was one thing—doing it while not being able to move a limb without feeling like a hundred needles just pierced your flesh was another.

It didn't matter if she just had to lie like this for a while, anyway, she thought—it wasn't like anyone would see her…

But then she realized that God was probably laughing at the sight of her misery from His recliner on high when she suddenly heard footsteps from behind break the silence, followed by an amused chuckle.

"Wow," A feminine voice uttered in amusement, "Never thought that that thing would do such a number on you that you'd be out of commission for this long."

Dragon Slayer tried to move her head to get a view of the woman she so desperately wanted to strangle right now, only to get an agonizing sensation of utter torture in her neck for her trouble. Her head drooped back down into its previous position, her teeth clenched in embarrassment.

"What…" Dragon Slayer said weakly, "do you... want?"

She heard the footsteps nonchalantly approach, going so much as to step over her. "I just wanted to see what you were up to. Never thought I'd see the Dragon Slayer herself sprawled on the floor like this, actually." The woman prodded Dragon Slayer with a foot, saying, "You don't look so good."

"All-Seer…" Dragon Slayer growled dangerously, recognizing the woman, "Wasn't it… _fucking_… obvious…?" She moved her eyes to glare at the newcomer, wanting to see if she had a smirk worth tearing away with her bare hands.

'All-Seer' had a frown on her face instead, however. "My, how rude. I never imagined you were one for swearing…"

The All-Seer was quite a distinctive sight: a tight, black leather jacket hugged her shapely figure, which wasn't doing much of a job at covering her rather large breasts underneath a white shirt. Black tights covered her legs and a pair of white belts crossed her waist, one larger than the other. Straight, black hair reached down to her waist, partially covering a pair of bright red eyes, and her long ears were in a strange elfin shape. A silvery-black scythe was strapped to her back, the section of the long handle handling its smooth blade shaped in the appearance of a jawbone.

Like most of the respective titles that the denizens of the Otherworld were also known for, the All-Seer's very designation was more than just two words put together. Though lesser Otherworlders were often named by the weapons they carried, her title just explains exactly what ability she possessed had made her a notorious one: there was almost nothing that she didn't know.

It isn't exactly a form of omniscience, however. Contrary to what others may think, her ability was only limited to something as simple as creating thoughts: whatever she wanted to know, she would know. Thousands of years have given her the freedom to master her skill, giving her the infamy that she enjoyed.

So, not relying on her ability for the moment, seeing the Dragon Slayer in her current state came as a bit of a pleasant surprise.

"You're not… the first… to say that to me…" Dragon Slayer muttered, grunting when she realized that even speaking hurt as hell. She closed her eyes and tried to relax, but the presence of someone else in the room seemed to hinder the act.

When she heard a shuffling noise, she slowly opened her eyes and took another look at the All-Seer, only to have her eyes widen when the woman had brandished her right hand as if to summon power—electricity danced from her arm to her glove-covered fingertips, its crackling noise sounding oh-so threatening at the moment. The All-Seer grinned wickedly before she thrust her palm right in Dragon Slayer's direction.

Dragon Slayer clenched her eyes shut, preparing for the powerful electric current to shock her into unconsciousness, worsening her already weakened state… Only to be surprised when instead of harming her, she felt like the electricity had charged her up instead. She could feel strength return to her prone form, the pain from her earlier torture already disappearing.

"W… What..?" Dragon Slayer uttered, slowly standing up.

The All-Seer immediately burst out laughing, clutching at her stomach hysterically. "HAHAHAHA! Oh good lord, you should have seen the look on your face!"

Dragon Slayer instantly caught on to the practical joke that the All-Seer had just made out of her. She angrily lunged for the woman, but the All-Seer immediately dodged the claw that would had left an ugly scar on her face, grabbing Dragon Slayer's arm. She swung her right over her shoulder in an effortless suplex, unceremoniously dropping her on her back.

The All-Seer stood over Dragon Slayer's beaten form, a mocking grin etched on her face. "You know, assaulting people after they just helped you out isn't a very good way of showing gratitude."

"Go to hell," Dragon Slayer hissed.

"It's too bad we can't," the All-Seer bent down and lightly tickled Dragon Slayer on the nose, to which the latter responded by growling threateningly. "You know, I've heard that being too grumpy significantly affects the human body. I wonder how _you_ would look with wrinkles…?"

"Don't treat me like a child," Dragon Slayer snarled, swiping at the other woman with her armored hand. "Just tell me what you fucking want."

The All-Seer frowned and rewarded Dragon Slayer with a rather painful flick on the lips.

"Son of a—"

_Flick._

"STOP IT YOU PIECE OF—"

_FLICK._

"Okay, I get it!" Dragon Slayer slapped the offender's hand away and rubbed at her sore lips, "Just tell me what you want already!"

"Getting down to business?"

"Stop fooling around." Dragon Slayer stood from her disadvantageous position on the floor and dusted herself off, glaring at the woman before her. "I'm sure you've got other things to do than just screwing with me."

The All-Seer straightened, clapping both hands together as she said merrily, "My, right on point! That's so impressive of you, Dragon Slayer!"

Dragon Slayer ignored the lack of sarcasm in the All-Seer's voice. "Don't act like a child. It doesn't suit you, especially when you've got a rack as large as yours."

The All-Seer pouted. "You're too stiff for a grown woman, Dragon Slayer. Has the recent incident with your daughter rendered you unsociable? You used to be a lot more polite than this."

"_Used_ to? I don't think I remember being 'polite' in the company of a bitch as nosy as you," Dragon Slayer snarled.

The All-Seer brought a hand to her face and muttered with a sigh, "Such language…" She brought her eyes on Dragon Slayer again, but this time, her demeanor grew stern. "I apologize in advance, seeing as my intentions might be something you would disagree with… given that Anguish is the sole reason I even bothered to have a word with you."

"Really, now?" Dragon Slayer said, "If you want to see her, then I'm afraid you'll just have to buzz off. Aside from my children, I can't trust anyone else not to finish her off right now."

"Well…" the All-Seer eyed the Cerberus lying a few feet away, the weapon having been ignored, "I want to talk about this small bout of vengeance I'm sure you're going to make."

"That is a personal issue," Dragon Slayer spat, "Giving that human and his archangel friend what they deserve is none of your business."

"I know," All-Seer replied, "but you already have the Cerberus, an artifact that I'm sure has been forced to be in your possession. What difference will one more helping hand make?"

"What makes you think I'm going to use that piece of tin against them? I won't risk having more of my children harmed, and I didn't even need the damned thing in the first place."

"I'm sure you do, however."

"And what makes you think that?"

"The fact that your targets are going to be a lot more prepared than last time," The All-Seer replied, "Let's see here: you've got Isaki-military Sergeant, steroid-infused hand-to-hand combatant, and a master at pyrokinesis; next you have Mephistopheles-a rebellious, bull-headed archangel, who has his legendary fighting prowess to make up for his infamy; then there's Isaki's old friends.

"Though that brother-in-law of Isaki's called Theodore isn't even worth our attention, the pretty one named Connor has already received more than enough military training for him to go toe-to-toe with any one of your best fighters in an even brawl."

The All-Seer gave a satisfied smirk when Dragon Slayer didn't reply; she was listening, then…

"However," She continued, "All that is just the tip of the iceberg. Your real problem is Isaki's own daughter, Saika—"

Dragon Slayer gave a small flinch of surprise, her eyes widening at the nonchalant statement. "Isaki has a child?"

The All-Seer grinned. "Indeed he does. But there's more to the girl than what meets the eye; you see, Saika is the result of Torment letting his lust get the better of his common sense. He takes over his host, nails his missus, and nine months later, you get one of the few half-human, half-Otherworlders in the history of existence—at the cost of her mother's life.

"Of course, you might be wondering: what threat could a simple child possibly pose? Granted, even children of our kind do not obtain their powers until they are at a certain age; but young Saika possesses abilities beyond what ours can do combined, exceeding even her father's own.

"You see, Saika was blessed with these gifts during the time of her birth, and though they are rare or even unheard of among us, they are nothing compared to the incredible phenomena she can easily perform at a whim: young Saika can _see_ the lifethreads that connect _every single being_ to the world of the living. There's more to it, however: this amazing ability of hers has no limitations—she can see the threads of _every_ living being in this world, and even in worlds _beyond_ separate realms…!"

She lowered her voice into an intimidating tone, finding satisfaction in the uncharacteristic hint of unease on Dragon Slayer's face. "She can see the threads of life… and she can _cut_ them at will. Now, Dragon Slayer, with someone like her on their side, would you really be so foolish as to even show yourself to them now that you know you are outmatched? And even if you do get your taste of sweet, sweet payback… I doubt even a child who was always taught virtuous moralities would hesitate ending your life in an instant."

Dragon Slayer turned her head away in silence, and the All-Seer gave her a few feet of comfortable distance, letting the other woman sort out her thoughts. She could see the evident conflict on Dragon Slayer's face, clearly uncertain as to which decision to make. A minute of tense silence passed, and Dragon Slayer finally spoke.

"What do you want me to do, then…?"

The All-Seer smiled. "Accept my help, Dragon Slayer. You know that I am not an all-seer in name only. I can provide you with every last bit of knowledge you will need if you are to be victorious even against a harbinger of death."

"And what do you want in exchange?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're offering too much of your services for it to be free… So name your price."

The All-Seer gave a short chuckle. "Nothing much, really. I just want to see your job come to fruition."

Dragon Slayer glared at her. "Don't you lie to me, woman."

She spread her arms to the side and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm afraid that is the truth, Dragon Slayer. But if you want a few more details than what I'd given: Anguish's injury wasn't exactly pleasant news for me.

"Once, I had come across that child of yours back in the Otherworld, you see. We crossed blades, of course, but even though she wasn't the slightest bit of a challenge, her morals as a fighter were rather admirable for someone so young. Anguish did not curse her defeat, but rather, she accepted it; she never used dirty tactics, but fought fairly; and she did not show me insolence, stating that she respected me as an opponent and as a warrior."

The All-Seer wore a wan smile. "Such traits are a rare find in a realm as lawless as the Otherworld; and from what she has exhibited, Anguish had unknowingly won my respect. It pains me to know that such a wonderful young woman has been harmed in such a barbaric manner."

Dragon Slayer was silent for a while before she extended her hand towards the woman before her for a handshake; the All-Seer only regarded her with a scrutinizing look.

"I don't trust you yet," Dragon Slayer said, "I accept your assistance, All-Seer… but only for the reason that you claim to act for my daughter's behalf."

The All-Seer looked like she wanted to just gawk for a moment before she grinned and snickered mischievously. Before Dragon Slayer could react, the other woman had already taken her offered hand, bowed down, and gently kissed the top of her fingers.

Dragon Slayer was caught off-guard, obviously because she stood stock-still for the full three seconds that the sensation of having another's lips on her knuckles was lingering in her head. The All-Seer wore a playful smirk on her lips as she lifted her gaze to snicker at a flabbergasted woman.

"Glad to be of service, Dragon Slayer."

_Smack._ "I TOLD YOU TO STOP FOOLING AROUND!"

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><p>Deathscythe caught Saya's blade with her scythe's shaft, her muscles straining as they grappled their weapons together. Sparks flew from where their weapons met, disappearing harmlessly when they fell to solid ground. Only a small number of civilians remained, most of them being the students from Saya's school.<p>

The military forces that had responded to their scuffle, to most of the civilians' confusion, had decided not to interfere. They had hastily instructed all within the building to immediately evacuate and stay as far as possible from the two combatants while they were at it.

Because, like most of the soldiers that had been dispatched in Tokyo, these soldiers were already briefed about who and what creatures like Saya and Deathscythe were—and what they were capable of.

"Ready to eat your words?" Saya taunted, pushing Deathscythe back with a shove and delivering slash after slash of her massive sword. Life-ending precision guided her blade, each massive strike that she brought down possessing as much power as a jackhammer.

"You kidding?" Deathscythe replied, deflecting each of Saya's strikes with a small hint of difficulty; despite being a master at the art of war, she knew that the being within the woman was a force to be reckoned with. However, she would sooner offer her neck to a dull blade than to concede defeat—sure the odds were now against her, but she wasn't going to pass up on the chance to try and win against someone so renowned!

"I'm just getting started!"

Deathscythe swung her blade with inhuman strength, with Saya immediately raising the flat of her blade to block the deadly blow. Before she could recover, a sharp kick from Deathscythe sent her flying. Saya righted herself in midair, letting the weight of her blade take advantage of gravity to send her back to the ground. She landed on her feet with a crouch, instantly taking an offensive stance again.

Saya launched towards Deathscythe at Mach speed, drawing her blade to pierce her where she stood. Deathscythe managed to roll sideways to dodge the attack, and Saya could only keep on going until her blade impaled itself hilt-deep into the wall, creating a large shockwave that resulted in a spiderweb of cracks.

With Saya's weapon rendered momentarily unusable, Deathscythe took her chance to attack. She darted towards Saya as she twirled her scythe in her hand, raising it over her head to deliver a dismembering blow.

Deathscythe cackled. "Eat this, bitch!"

Saya suddenly yanked her blade free, sending a shower of debris in Deathscythe's direction. The girl was buffeted by the distraction, enough time for Saya to slam the flat of her blade against Deathscythe like a baseball bat. Deathscythe flailed through the air before crashing like a rocket into the tough ceiling.

Concrete crumbled as Deathscythe dropped to the ground with a solid thud. Groaning, she raised her head to find Saya's blade pointed at her nose.

"You were saying, punk?"

"What, Carnage," Deathscythe grinned, coughing up a little, "You expect me to beg?"

Saya returned the earlier favor with a kick of her own, sending Deathscythe to skid along the ground before slamming into a wall, causing a small shower of debris to fall on her.

"I expect you to answer properly," Saya replied, "And I've gotten tired of you calling me by that name. The next time you say it might be your last."

Deathscythe slowly stood up, brushing away the dust that had gotten on her clothes and hair. "Oh please, where's the fun in beating your opponent into the dirt if you can't mess with them first?"

Sensing something coming in her direction, Deathscythe almost reacted to what she thought was an attack before catching her scythe in her hands, tossed to her by Saya. She frowned at the taller woman before shrugging, speaking grumpily, "I guess that makes us even."

Saya gave a mocking smile."No holding back, then?"

Despite the situation, Deathscythe snickered and answered, "If you say so."

She twirled her scythe in her hands in a swift, fluid motion before resting it on her shoulders. Wisps of white energy bled from her body, slowly encompassing her like fog before bursting outwards in a flash of light.

Saya raised an arm in front of herself to shield her vision from the flash, ignoring the force of the shockwave brought with it. A moment later, she lowered her arm and received a first glimpse of… whoever now stood before her.

Standing where Deathscythe stood was a being almost unlike the girl it used to be. A creature with pale feminine features stood tall, a large, smoothly-shaped scythe resting casually on its shoulders. Her eyes glowed a deathly white, her long, straight silvery-black hair flowing down to her waist; above her forehead were two spiked, ornamental hairpieces that resembled small horns. Black, jagged armor covered her entire frame, her shoulders and arms left bare with a pair of black metallic gauntlets to cover her hands.

"Let's get this over with, Saya Irino… _Black Gold Saw_." The transformed Deathscythe spoke, her voice carrying a quality of power.

Saya gave a smug grin of satisfaction. "About damn time you tried tipping the scales in your favor, kid," she held her golden blade in front of her, the large weapon emitting a haze of deep red. "However, I can't help but think that you're just one big glutton for punishment."

"What can I say?" 'Deathscythe' replied, "My new superiors offered me a chance of a lifetime: what self-respecting Otherworlder would _ever_ pass up on the chance to take you down?" Unexpectedly, she gave a rather respectful bow that made Saya think that she was somehow just trying to catch her off-guard.

"Even if I now am at risk of dying permanently, I would say that the experience of fighting you in the flesh is worth all the effort." Deathscythe straightened up, half-grinning at Saya.

Saya brandished her blade, taking on another offensive stance. She let her lips form into a commending smile before saying, "That's by far the only good thing you've said all day."

* * *

><p>A young soldier marched along uneasily among his comrades, the snow crunching underneath their heavy boots. He nervously shifted his gaze from one other soldier to another, trying to read their faces, silently hoping for anyone who might be in a similar state as him. He shivered from the cold, clutching his assault rifle tighter than he should have.<p>

Truth be told, he hadn't even made into what would even consider a soldier; he had only received less than a month of military training as a young cadet before he was assigned to some random squad and dispatched out on the field, sent to fight a war he wasn't ready for.

Earlier, he had assisted in moving the large group of civilians that his group had evacuated several hours prior to a safer area when they had to compromise their previous evacuation center; the reason was that two of said civilians turned out to be of the same beings that they were instructed to watch out for, and both were now duking it out on each other in the greatest show of power that he had ever seen in his life. Seriously, that fight looked too much like something out of a movie!

What unnerved him now, however, wasn't just the blistering cold, the heavy firearm, or the tense silence—it was the very prospect of their squad returning to that same evac center, each soldier fully armed and loaded for reasons he did not know.

Before the squad had left for their current operation, one of the civilians—one that the cadet recognized to be one of those high school students that had accompanied the woman who turned out to be what they described as an 'Other Self'—had begged for the soldiers to try to help those two in any way that they could. Their officer had not given the poor student a reply, but the cadet had hastily approached the student exactly before the squad left, stating that they would do whatever they could.

He cast a nervous glance to the left at his commanding officer, considering the option of asking about what he was planning for the squad to do. The officer's gait was firm and snappy, though the slight edginess in his movements was noticeable.

The cadet's thoughts drifted back to the pleas of the young student earlier. He didn't want to let those kids down, but he didn't want to be berated for getting their hopes up as well. Unfortunately for him, his mouth worked faster than his head. "P-Permission to speak, sir."

The officer cast the cadet a sideways glance that made him flinch a little, then bringing back his attention forward before replying. "Granted."

The young cadet gulped nervously, giving himself a mental slap for his somewhat-involuntary move. He uneasily asked, "If I may ask, sir, what are we even going to do?"

The cadet noticed his officer clenching his teeth, and for a moment he regretted asking the question in the first place. "You wanna know, soldier?" The officer uttered with a frustrated voice, "It's simple: we get back there, blast those two cunts full of holes, then we call it a day and bring those civvies back to the evac center once we've got this mess taken care of."

The cadet and most of his fellow soldiers were taken aback by their officer's crude remark, but the context in his words was clear: he was going to make sure that those two women weren't going to make it back alive. Some of the soldiers almost immediately spoke up in protest.

"We're not gonna try and talk to 'em, sir?"

"WHAT?!"

"Wait, there's no way in hell I'm shooting a woman!"

"But if those things get us first, we're dead meat!"

"We won't stand a chance against those two!"

The cadet hastily stepped up to the officer, who just regarded him with a glare. The cadet nervously spoke up, "S-Sir, what are you saying?"

"What does it sound like, runt? I'm _saying_ that we're gonna pump those bitches full of lead!" The officer suddenly drew a pistol and loaded it, pressing the barrel directly against the cadet's forehead. "Want me to make a demonstration?"

The squad instantly fell silent at their officer's actions; the young cadet tensed up in fear, his frightened gaze moving from the gun's frame towards his officer's cruel stare. He gulped before agitatedly muttering, "S-Sir, the President's orders—"

He was cut off from having the gun pressed harder against his head. "I don't give a rat's ass about the President's orders, punk."

The cadet clenched his eyes shut, almost screaming when he said, "W-We were supposed to report any appearances of these Other Selves directly, s-sir! B-Besides, those students are counting on us! And w-we might even get serious penalties for doing this!"

The officer didn't reply, still keeping the pistol against the cadet's forehead. After several more seconds of nerve-racking silence he asked the cadet dangerously, "You _fucking_ tell me, soldier: whose squad are you in?"

The cadet didn't give him a reply, his fright taking over his common sense.

"ANSWER ME, SOLDIER!"

"Y-Yours, sir!" The cadet shouted.

"_Exactly._ And I expect you to obey _my_ orders, you got that? It doesn't matter if God Himself came down to tell you to make His coffee! You're under _me,_ and you _answer_ to me! Are we clear, soldier?!" The officer roughly shoved the cadet away with the pistol, who staggered backwards before being caught by a fellow soldier.

The officer clicked the safety back on and holstered the pistol, stomping forwards again with a growl. He stopped for a while and shouted back to his squad a few words that had them resuming their route in tense silence….

"It doesn't matter what Obama says…" The officer muttered loudly for his squad to hear, "I'm not gonna leave humanity's future in the hands of a couple of freaks."

* * *

><p>Despite the fact that she had problems with her own mentality, the eccentric Lily Gibson was actually quite a popular and talented face in the music industry.<p>

Her works had become increasingly popular recently among the masses—both locally and overseas—most of her supporters and critics heralding her music as genuine pieces of art. Needless to say, it was her talent and popularity that formed the main source of funding that she used towards her husband's work, who was an experienced prodigy in the field of genetics and virology.

It was Lily's popularity that had unexpectedly caught the attention of the larger names among the scientists in the United States Military towards Wyler Gibson's capabilities, and despite his youth and inexperience, had managed to accomplish in a few months what his new seniors could not for years.

It didn't quite come as a surprise when other people that knew of Lily almost instantly brightened upon hearing that their idol was currently in the shelter with them. Several civilians flocked to the supposed quarters of the couple, ending up with Wyler requesting a pair of soldiers to stand guard for the moment-his position in the military had made things a little easier.

Along with those two soldiers, Wyler had also enlisted the assistance of a few medical personnel—ones he made sure were more adept at hospital work rather than being field medics. Why?

Lily was finally giving birth. And she needed help—_fast_.

The whole affair had been… _excruciating_, to say the least.

Lily had been in such a frenzy the whole time; she screamed and writhed from the intense pain that childbirth delivered, taking the efforts of two large military men to hold her down. The inhuman strength she was exhibiting was both alarming and frightening. The doctors had been incredibly agitated during the whole process of helping the seemingly frail woman bear her child, making others who felt that they weren't needed exit the premises with pale faces.

Lily's screaming was rather audible for the civilians who were outside the room, leaving a tense atmosphere of concern and apprehension during the whole event; the more religious ones had already started their prayers, individual or otherwise, hoping for a safe delivery during the whole ordeal.

Nobody noticed that the whole affair had only used up the space of five minutes.

* * *

><p>Lily lay in the new bed that was offered to her some time earlier, her white hair disheveled and a very obvious sign of exhaustion on her pale face.<p>

Lying tenderly in her arms, snugly wrapped in white was the small form of her and Wyler's first child: a beautiful baby girl with black hair and vivid brown eyes—a trait she shared from her father, along with a round, bright face that inherited the beauty of her mother's. She did not have her mother's albinotic condition, something the couple had been quite grateful for. She was the newly christened Nana Gibson, a small flicker of hope in an anarchic earth.

Though Wyler shared his wife's sentiments, he still could not get his mind off their current predicament: with the world in its state, just _how _were they supposed to raise their child in an environment that they had hoped for?

A small tear ran down his cheek as he gently caressed Nana's sleeping face; even if their family was somehow going to survive, he thought, their daughter would never have the life that other children had had.

Wyler felt a soft hand on his cheek, and he realized that he had been too deep in thought to notice Lily giving him a worried gaze. "Are you alright, Wyler?" she asked.

"Oh…" Wyler said, wiping his face then smiling at her, "It's nothing, Lily. I'm just… I'm just really happy, that's all."

Lily frowned and set her hand back down. "The look you had just now says otherwise. Tell me," she started, "what is bothering you so much that you would be so worried even at a time such as now?"

Wyler sighed. "Lily, think about it—possibly the _entire_ earth is being overrun by those monsters…!"

Lily slightly tilted her head to the side, a dubious look on her face. "So?"

"Lily, can't you see? With the world like this, there's no way for us both to raise Nana like a normal child!" Wyler said in disbelief. He mentally cursed himself when the sleeping Nana shifted, possibly disturbed by his short bout of frustration. He settled down and knelt beside the bed, breathing out, "Not only that… It's only a matter of time until one of those monsters catches us. We can run and hide all we want; but all those… _things_ need is a single opportunity to end us all."

After a short period of silence, Lily extended a pale hand over to cup her distraught husband's face, gently urging him to look at her. A small, reassuring smile was on her lips as she said, "I don't believe that, Wyler. This may sound like something off some cheesy soap opera: but I believe that somehow, in some way or another, we _will_ live to see the end of all this. Who knows? Someday, our dear Nana may grow up to be the most beautiful woman you've ever laid eyes on, and all this worrying would be all for nothing."

"…" Wyler was silent for a while before he softly asked, "What makes you say all this…?"

"Nothing, really."

"Huh?"

"Nothing… or _no one_ has made me believe that there is always a way out. I don't believe in the impossible, Wyler…" Lily smiled brightly at him, softly ruffling his hair, "…I just have hope."

Wyler gave a soft laugh after a few moments. "…all these years, and you never cease to amaze me…"

_BOOM!_

The couple's short moment of tranquility was immediately ruined by a large explosion, effectively waking Nana. Several screams and the blazing sound of gunfire was heard immediately after that, each consecutive roar of anguish serving to increase the already horrid smell of tension and death in the air.

There was no mistaking it—the bunker previously believed to be impenetrable had been discovered.

For the first time since the start of this nightmare, a look of fear etched itself onto Lily's face. She held onto Nana as the child wailed, softly urging her to settle down despite the din of chaos.

"_So much for hope,"_ Wyler thought. He should have seen this coming; a large bunker would have easily attracted attention, no matter how well-hidden it was! Turning back to his wife, he was surprised to find that she was struggling to get off the bed. He immediately held her back, firmly holding her down by her shoulders. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Lily slowly held Nana out towards Wyler, beckoning him to take their daughter. A firm expression was on her face as she said, "Please, hold on to Nana for now."

"What are you talking about?!" Wyler yelled, "You can't walk around in your condition, Lily! Leaving this room would be suicide!"

"I don't have time to argue, Wyler!" Lily's red eyes suddenly flashed, making Wyler take a step back.

An eerie haze that was a deep purplish-red in color was suddenly being emitted from Lily's body. Taking advantage of her husband's surprise, Lily grabbed Wyler's shirt with a free hand, the sudden increase in physical strength shocking the young man even more. Lily forcibly brought him down onto the bed and handed Nana over to him, not giving him a chance to protest.

Lily made her way over to the door, giving Wyler a look that told him to stay where he was. She grabbed the knob and let herself out, making sure she closed it slowly before she left.

Wyler was stunned silent, his eyes widened in shock and his mouth hanging open.

The young scientist had enough clearance to know about the military's projects regarding bioweaponry, and this little event brought back memories of a certain project that he had taken part in a few months ago. One, in fact, that involved the discovery of the existence of certain… people living amongst humanity for eons.

'_Otherworlders': Extremely dangerous. Attempt negotiation before leaving one's presence as calmly as possible. Latter action only to be taken if subject does not show hostility._

_Otherworlders: Subjects possess superhuman strength, dexterity, agility, senses, and thought processes. Armed at all times. Extremely dangerous. Do not provoke or engage._

_Mrs. Lily Gibson. Profession: Recording artist. Stage name: Sing Love. Married to Dr. Wyler Gibson. Subject has just shown signs of enhanced physical strength despite earlier childbirth. Apparently able to produce and emit glowing substance resembling smoke. Pupils show bioluminescent behavior._

It took him a few seconds to connect the dots. The conclusion he came to sure as hell wasn't pretty; but it's rather difficult to deny a fact once solid evidence presents itself, right?

"No way…" Wyler muttered in disbelief.

* * *

><p>Lily leaned on the wall for support as she staggered over towards the main source of the screams. Her legs were barely able to keep her standing, but she ignored the weariness and fatigue in favor of dragging herself towards the source of chaos. People of miscellaneous types sped past her in a wild frenzy, others handling people with wounds and injuries that told you that they wouldn't last long.<p>

When Lily finally got to the shelter's main lobby, what she saw didn't please her in the slightest.

Almost every part of the place was literally painted in blood. A large, gaping hole constantly crumbled pieces of rubble on the spot where the main entrance used to be, massive demonic beasts filling up the room at a worrying rate. Civilians and medical personnel alike scrambled around in a mad dash for safety, narrowly avoiding certain death; others weren't so lucky, instantly being devoured or torn apart by the beasts. Looking around, Lily saw that the military squadron tasked with protecting the occupants of the bunker were barely holding their ground against the demons, their powerful guns only serving to pester the creatures.

Unlike every other attack that the soldiers had experienced, the demons did not come in a somewhat organized group which often consisted of several frontliners and a handful of brutes—no, these demons were all noticeably of a single type—massive, ruthless animals-and they all tore into their ranks as savagely as the monsters they were.

The demons' intensely muscular frames were bestial in shape, with large upper torsos and long arms as thick as logs. Thick, rocky plates covered their bodies in overlapping sections from their thick heads to their long tails like an armadillo's and despite their four eyes and broad jaws their visages easily resembled that of a wildcat's. The beasts moved around on all fours, their hind legs being stout and thick. Not only that, each demon was about the size of a garbage truck, and more than a dozen of the beasts had already made their way inside the bunker, with more possibly on the way.

The beasts' large claws tore into flesh and bone as if it were wet paper, unlucky victims even getting a taste of what it was like to have a monster's teeth rip you to pieces. Chunks of concrete sailed through the air each time a swipe of their claws missed their intended targets, letting one know that getting in the way of one of those things was _not_ a good idea.

This had to end. _Now._

Despite the exhaustion dulling her movements and senses, Lily focused as hard as she possibly could, willing the energies within her to flow through her veins. She could feel the raw, unprecedented power coursing through her, filling her to the brim in its extraordinary essence.

She stood still in the presence of death and bloodshed, slowly closing her eyes—once she opened them again, the red gave way to a bright magenta, and her right eye gave off a spark, summoning a powerful flare of flame.

* * *

><p>A female doctor yelped when the missed impact of a demon's pounce knocked her off her feet, sending her to the ground. She raised her head to see the creature already raising its right arm for a vicious slash that would not doubt kill her in an instant; but before she could even open her mouth to scream, a blur of white and purple-red sliced through the air and landed a solid blow to the beast's midsection, sending it slamming painfully into a far wall. The sickening crunch of breaking bones and smashed concrete boomed from where the demon's body met the reinforced wall, a sound louder than anything else in the area.<p>

The other demons immediately took notice. One by one, the beasts suddenly halted their mad slaughter to gaze at the little fleshling that had so easily overpowered their brethren; four eyes from each beast regarded her with a combination of surprise, puzzlement, wonder, and animalistic curiosity—but above all that, rage.

One of the beasts let out a booming roar loud enough for the bewildered humans in the area to clutch at their ears in pain—one much larger in stature, its plates a duller color than the others. One would easily assume this one to be the Alpha, if it turned out that the monsters that had easily slaughtered so many in less than five minutes were actually just a pack of dumb beasts.

Lily's eyes glowered at the beasts with killing intent; she drew a breath and roared back at them in reply, her normally pleasant voice now a thunder of unearthly eminence.

"_YOU WANT A FIGHT, HELLSPAWN SCUM?!"_ Lily roared, _"I'LL GIVE YOU ONE!"_

The Alpha charged straight at Lily, the ground trembling like an earthquake as its mighty limbs pounded the solid concrete. Lily's response was to charge right back, her own sprint doing as much structural damage as the demon. Before she could come from within fifty feet, the demon raised both of its massive arms and immediately slammed them into the ground, releasing a shockwave that swept aside corpses and rubble like leaves in a storm—but Lily didn't even wince.

"The fuck?!" A soldier swore, his curse left unheard amongst the din of chaos. His hand immediately moved to activate his communicator, making contact with his comrades in the area. "Command, there's a civvie fighting the demons!"

"That's no civilian!" another soldier yelled, "T-That's one of 'em Otherworld freaks! Somebody get this intel back to the higher-ups, PRONTO!"

The unearthly glow in Lily's eyes gathered along her lithe legs as she ran, and with a powerful burst of power she twisted and launched into the air with a drawn fist, intending to give the Alpha one big, solid strike. The demon abruptly raised an arm in front of itself to block her blow, and the moment her fist connected with the beast's limb, all present to see the spectacle couldn't believe what they saw.

The beast's arm exploded as easily as a water balloon, the sickening sound of mangled flesh and fresh blood reverberating along with the resulting blast. The air just _rippled_ from the intensity of Lily's blow, the demon's roar of pain barely heard as a result.

The demon immediately backhanded Lily with the force of a wrecking ball, sending her flying like a rocket straight into the ceiling—or would have, if Lily hadn't used the momentum of her flight and struck the spot where the ceiling met the wall at a 90-degree angle on bended knees; she launched right back at the beast, inadvertently creating a massive crater on the wall from the pure force of her move.

The Alpha demon literally met Lily's next blow head-on; apparently its skull was a lot more resilient than its massive arms. Catching Lily off-guard, it immediately whipped its head up and opened its jaws, and Lily quickly jumped backwards before its maw snapped shut.

Lily landed on all fours, her attention still focused on the beast before her. "_Tough one, aren't you?"_

It replied with a roar and a slam of its remaining arm, returning Lily's gaze.

She immediately launched forwards in a flash, leaving no time for the Alpha to make a move. Lily's left hook met the beast's face with a loud crack, and before the rules of physics could be applied and the beast be blown away, Lily followed with another punch with her right, then launching the Alpha into the air with a well-placed uppercut.

Lily struck as fast as the eye could see and grabbed the demon's other shoulder; her small arms couldn't even encircle the whole thing due to its sheer size, but that was barely even an inconvenience. With a savage cry she twisted the demon's shoulder so swiftly with a sickening crack of bone, then ripping the limb right off of the beast with a powerful yank in a shower of blood.

With a brief grunt, Lily raised the severed limb over her head and clubbed the beast, sending it right back to the ground and adding even more damage to the reinforced floor.

It appeared that gravity didn't quite work as well on Lily; still in the air, she raised one arm above her head, and a great haze of her energy coalesced into a cloud-like mass, emitting crackling sparks of raw power. The haze took the form of an elongated object, forming a solid shape. A large scythe was created in an instant, its shape and appearance filling the spectators with both fear and awe. It hovered in the air over Lily, her power seemingly keeping it afloat.

With a powerful cry, she snapped her arm back down, sending the scythe down towards the demon; the great blade sliced through flesh and bone, making the demon utter one last roar of pain before it was severed in half. When the job was done the scythe spun in the air before vanishing in a magenta haze.

Lily landed back down on the ground, her soft descent a small pin drop in the earlier chaos she had created.

She raised her attention back to her surroundings, finding that everyone—human and demon alike—had all fallen silent. She saw that too few military units remained, probably less than a dozen around. Civilians were wide-eyed in astonishment, cowering behind the meager shelter they could find. The demons mostly backed away in fear, a few others growling at her with what was left of their bravado.

Lily waved her arm in a gesture of eviction. "_Leave."_

Some of the beasts turned their attention on each other questioningly, but the smarter ones knew that the order was for them. Others growled louder in defiance, but they didn't take a step closer. Muffled murmuring was heard from the few civilians in the area, clearly just as confused as some of the beasts.

Lily decided to break the tension. "_**LEAVE!**_" Her booming voice was paired with a sonic blast of her pinkish-red energy, effectively startling all within the vicinity.

The beasts hurriedly scrambled out of the bunker in a frightened frenzy, the braver ones roaring back at Lily before joining their brethren in its hasty retreat. They exited the place through the same makeshift entrance they used earlier, inadvertently making the hole bigger as they fled.

Tense silence remained several moments after the demons' departure.

Exhaustion finally overwhelmed Lily soon after. It was similar the sensation of powerlessness one felt after an adrenaline rush; but in her case, the fatigue disoriented her so much that she could barely take in her surroundings, her vision incredibly blurry and her breathing ragged and weak_._

She slowly started to leave the scene, tiredly making her way towards the hallway leading to her quarters; she could almost feel all the eyes on her, and she knew that probably every single one of the people around her were absolutely terrified. Not a single one made a move to help when she suddenly dropped on her knees in the semblance of a puppet having its strings cut, an intense pain in her skull immediately sapping her of what little strength she had to keep herself steady.

Lily groaned through clenched teeth, a voice that suddenly made itself known inaudible to all but her.

"_You never cease to impress me, Lily."_

* * *

><p><strong>Review~!<strong>


	16. Chapter 14: Gods Among Men part 3

**Well, this chapter concludes the **_**Gods Among Men**_** mini-arc. Have fun reading.**

* * *

><p>The soldiers continued to tread heavily through the snow, their anxiety growing as they neared the evac center which was already in their sights. The officer narrowed his eyes at the structure, his muscles tensing in preparation of a fight he thought he needed to win. He raised a hand into the air, signaling for his troops to halt their march for the moment.<p>

The squad slowly stopped in their tracks, their respective attention focused solely on their commanding officer. Others shifted uneasily and took slow breaths in their apprehensive state, but not a single one uttered a word. The officer took a deep breath and turned to face them, but before he could speak, intent on giving the squad their battle plan, a small voice broke the silence.

"Hey, you guys! Where are you off to?"

The voice sounded young, squeaky, and outright childish; it was like the owner was intentionally altering their voice to make it sound cutesy, but at the moment, with the heavy feeling of death in the air, its being unbefitting made it seem all the more alarming.

The soldiers all brought their attention towards the source, which was a few storeys above them to the right; on a small building's roof, a girl stood, her brilliant cherry eyes observing the squad with all the attention a child would give its favorite meal.

The girl wore a loose pink hoodie jacket which was probably around two times her size; the sleeves went past her hands, covering most of her body. She kept her hood up, which oddly had a pair of appendages that drooped down in the semblance of rabbit ears. Short hair bearing the same color as her eyes covered her face in thick locks. The ends of a black skirt could be seen above her knees, most of the piece of clothing being concealed by her hoodie jacket. Mismatched, striped stockings covered her legs, one pink & gray and the other black & white; and finally, a pair of pink sneakers covered her feet.

The girl was stooped over with her hands on her knees, seemingly unconcerned that gravity might take her four storeys down at an inadvertently wrong move.

The soldiers immediately clicked their respective weapon's safety mechanisms off, leveling their rifles at the girl above them. The girl gave a yelp of surprise and instantly backed away, ducking low on the roof with her sleeve-covered hands on her head.

"W-Wait!" The girl yapped, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"

The other soldiers who slowly lowered their weapons earned a glare from their officer, letting them quickly resume their current stances. The officer redirected his attention back to the roof, his hardened gaze narrowing.

"Kid!" The officer barked.

Unseen by the squad, the girl winced at the officer's gruff tone before she answered uneasily, trying to make her small voice audible enough for them to hear. "Y-Yes Sir?"

"All civilians are supposed to have been evacuated already! What are you doing here?"

The girl slowly removed her hands from her head and crawled on her elbows and knees over to the edge of the roof, trying to get a glimpse at the squad; when she saw that their weapons were still aimed at her position, she hastily retracted, keeping herself out of sight.

"I-I was just looking for someone…!" the girl replied to the officer's question.

"Uh, Sir…?"

The officer turned his head to glare at the cadet from earlier. "What do you want?"

"Sir, I don't think she's a hostile. Shouldn't we-"

"No," The officer cut him off before he could finish. He turned his attention back to the building roof and said, "Who are you looking for? If you think they're at that evac center, then I suggest you stay away; we've got two hostiles in the facility, and I'm not letting anyone invalid into the place until we're sure it's safe!"

"But she may not be at one!" The girl said, "I don't think she'd even stay in one; have you seen a girl with long black hair around? She shouldn't be too hard to spot; she always carries around a big sickle with her!"

At the mention of that last statement, each soldier now made sure they kept their weapons firmly aimed at the girl; call it a hunch, but they likely had no doubt as to what the girl's identity was. The officer, however, narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Some of the soldiers glanced at their officer nervously, to which the older man responded with a frustrated groan.

"Don't shit in your pants just yet," he said, "She's probably just another one of those anime-obsessed freaks from this damn place."

He turned his gaze back up at the building's roof, asking, "Is she a friend of yours?"

"Eh?" The girl responded, "No, why would I be friends with her? For a girl she just cusses too much! She was just taking too long with her job, so I thought I could just do it myself when I find her."

Well this was getting weird. "Kinda odd for you to do a favor for someone you don't like."

"Um… it's complicated!" The girl suddenly brightened and hustled closer when a thought came to mind, but when she saw that guns were still being pointed at her she retreated again. She grumbled something about unsociable jarheads before she said, "Hey, do you actually know who I'm looking for?"

"You could say that."

"She… hey wait, she's one of those hostiles you're talking about, right?"

"Yes."

The girl slowly crawled over towards the edge[again], carefully getting a partial view of the squad below. "Are you… after her?"

"Yes."

"Let's all go together, then!"

"_Excuse _me?" The officer answered.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" The girl chirped, finding amusement in seeing the bewildered expressions on the soldiers' faces.

"Look kid," the officer groaned, "I don't know just what you're up to, but me and my squad have more important things to do than listening to your shit." He turned away and beckoned towards the cadet, "You, keep an eye on this runt 'till we're back."

"Hey! Don't ignore me!"

The cadet nodded, his earlier exchange with the officer not giving any motivation for him to protest. "Y-Yes sir."

The soldiers slowly lowered their weapons one by one, a few others sparing the girl a bemused or annoyed look before turning towards their officer in expectation of their next orders.

"I-I can help!" The girl pleaded.

"From how you look, I highly doubt that." The officer answered, not bothering to even glance at the girl. Aside from the cadet, the rest of his squad began marching along with the officer towards the evac center.

"You can't just leave me here!"

The officer felt a vein about to burst open on his head. What the heck was _with_ this kid? He turned towards the cadet, shouting, "Get up there and shut 'er up! We're already in deep enough shit without a little nuisance to make things worse!"

Before the cadet could give a reply, the girl said, "Come on, I want in with your little team! What are you guys gonna do anyway?"

"_Piece of shit…_" The officer muttered under his breath in aggravation, before he gave an answer that he didn't realize he would regret later. "Don't you ever shut up?! We're going off to that evac center—" he snapped a thumb in the said center's direction, "—so we can make sure the place is safe enough for civilians to stay in!"

"So you're going to tell sickle-girl to go somewhere else?"

"We're gonna _kill_ her, genius!" The officer yelled, "Now just shut the hell up before I plug you full of holes too!"

"Wait, WHAT?!" the girl suddenly stood up, alerting almost everyone in the squad. "Wait wait wait wait wait wait, wait just one tick-picking minute! You're telling me that you're gonna _kill _her?"

"Didn't you hear me the first time?" The officer answered, his hand already on his pistol's holster.

"But that's _my_ job!" The girl protested, "You can't just do that for me! I won't get the credit for it!"

"What makes you think _I give a shit_?"

The girl visibly flinched at the harsh language, and she glared at the officer before replying, "You big meanie! Don't you know it's bad manners to swear in front of a lady?!"

"You ain't one."

"That _is_ it! You're going _down_, buster!" The girl flailed her arms around in an exaggerated display of pouting, her long sleeves swinging about in a very, very distracting manner. "I hereby declare an engagement! Whoever wins shall have the honor of fighting sickle-girl!"

"The _hell_ have you been smoking, runt?!"

"I don't smoke! I'm a good girl!"

"This is seriously getting weird…" A soldier muttered.

"Prob'ly had too much sugar." said another.

Another brought a hand to his face and griped, "What the fuck is she up to?"

The girl crossed her arms, giving a smug smile that would have looked better on a cartoony stuffed animal. "It has been decided! Mr. Grumpy S. Oldier and his squad shall go against me and…" She turned towards the cadet, who stared back with a look of uncertainty and exasperation, "Uh… Me and…" She waved a sleeve over at him, which probably indicated she was pointing a finger, "You! What should I call you?"

"I'm—"

Before the cadet could even form a coherent reply, the girl cut him off when she exclaimed, "Okay, I'll call you Private!"

"But that's not—"

"Anyway," The girl cut him off again, turning towards the overly-annoyed officer, "You think you can take us on, buster?"

"There's only one of you, punk."

The girl chuckled. "Well, you sound pretty confident. But don't forget that you're against two people! You shouldn't let that get to your head, you know!"

"If I may," A soldier caught her attention, half-raising a hand, "You just said that you wanted a contest, right? What do you want to do anyway?"

The girl's eyes widened and she clapped her hands together. "Oh, right! Thanks for reminding me…"

The soldier earned a punch to shoulder from the one beside him, crossly saying, "Don't encourage her, dumbass!"

"Just get on with it, please." Another told the girl, making the officer consider smacking them all upside the head. Just what kind of idiots did he work with?

"Right, right…" The girl suddenly smiled wickedly at the squad, before she extended her hands forward—and in the blink of an eye, she had already drawn them back and was now sporting a pair of massive, serrated three-pronged claws.

The childish smirk on the girl's face was gone, replaced by a hungry grin that had 'bloodlust' written all over it. "Last team standing after one minute wins!"

The officer's face paled in shock, and he immediately drew his pistol and yelled loudly enough that his voice could probably be heard throughout the entire district. "**LIGHT HER UP!**"

Wasting not another second, the squad immediately primed their weapons in a cacophony of shifting clicks, unleashing a barrage of artillery fire straight at the girl above them. Armor-piercing ammunition peppered the surface of the roof's ledge, making it crumble from the intense gunfire.

However, before the squad had even let their weapons loose, the girl had already leaped out of harm's way—that is, jumping right off the roof, straight for the taller building that was facing the one where she used to stand. It happened so fast that the first thing the squad could register was that the roof had already been severely damaged.

The girl latched on to the building's surface, and she spared the squad a cheeky grin before running vertically up the length of the building, seemingly headed for its roof as well. The squad immediately redirected their fire at the girl, but even in her position, she was moving too inhumanly fast for them to get a proper hit.

Unexpectedly, the girl jumped right off the building, leaving the reinforced glass of its surface to glistening pieces from the force of her leap. She arced through the air and plummeted right towards the squad head-first, almost every soldier in the group firing wildly at her in fear and desperation instead of the focused concentration that they were supposed to have.

The girl still had that grin on her face, amused at how the bullets just whizzed past her despite their sheer numbers.

To the naked eye, it would look like the girl had just crashed right in the center of the squad, resulting in the entire assembly being blown away; but if one's eyes were responsive enough to take in even the slightest movement, it would be seen that about ten feet before hitting the ground [and right into an unfortunate soldier] the girl had immediately whirled in midair, near-instantaneously positioning herself so that her feet would strike the solid concrete.

A soldier that had been fortunate enough to have kept himself from being blown away immediately leveled his assault rifle at her, but before he could pull the trigger the girl was already in front of him; within less of a second, she had already swung her wicked claws and instantly sliced through flesh, bone, and metal—the soldier fell to pieces in a gruesome mess.

The girl rolled out of the way of incoming gunfire, ending up right before another soldier easily being cleaved in two by an upwards swipe. Another came running for her with a combat knife in hand, but she immediately righted her position to give him a solid kick to the face, one so inhumanly powerful that the soldier spun in midair, his neck broken from the attack.

The ones who had finally recovered stood up and resumed their barrage, but the girl was moving way too fast for them to intercept. She easily picked them off one by one, each poor soldier being cut apart as quickly as playing whack-a-mole and as easily as slicing a hot knife through butter. The girl weaved through her prey with fluid, precise skill, a macabre display of gore on the move. Blood stained the white snow a sickly red color, the thick crimson liquid spurting through the air in a swift, merciless massacre.

And through it all, the girl simply laughed and laughed, enjoying her mass slaughter as if it were a mere game.

Then again, taking into account how she had 'challenged' the small squadron, it probably was one.

One of the soldiers backed away in terror while continuously maintaining his fire. "W-We don't have the firepower for this!"

At the sight of the remaining units of his squadron cowering, the officer roared, "PULL YOUR FUCKING ASSES TOGETHER! IT'S JUST ONE HOSTILE!"

The girl instantly calculated her next movements with a machine's precision: only six soldiers, including the officer, remained. She drew her claws back with an audible click, and in a single strong flourish of both her arms, all six victims fell to the ground with a blade jutting out of their chests.

Silence filled the area. It was a strange sensation-to have the fierce chaos of gore and gunfire at one moment, then utter stillness once it had ended.

The girl smiled as she observed her handiwork, dusting her hands in the gesture of a job well done. She nonchalantly walked over towards the officer, who was surprisingly still alive even after having a meter-long blade stuck through his chest.

She chuckled at the pitiful sight. "Told you not to let it get to your head."

The officer glared at her; when he tried to speak, he instead gasped for air, suddenly coughing out blood. He forcefully spoke through clenched teeth, looking at the girl with utter contempt. "Wha… What… Just what _the fuck_ are you?!"

The girl lightly kicked the blade, causing the officer to howl in agony. "I already told you that it's bad manners to swear in front of a lady. Don't you ever learn? And FYI, it's 'who,' not 'what.' Come on, you should be smart enough to know basic grammar! Are you jarheads _that_ uneducated these days?"

"And just to tell you: you and your team were no fun. You were supposed to try and live for more than a minute, but you didn't even last thirty seconds!" She bent down and gripped the end of the blade, making the officer groan painfully. She just laughed at the sight before she whispered, "Have fun in the afterlife."

She swung the blade in an upward arc, hacking the officer's skull in two.

She tossed the bloodied weapon away, deciding that cleaning the blood off of her tools was going to be a major pain. She stretched her arms and inhaled, smiling when she found the smell of death quite pleasant—delicious, even.

Then she remembered that she was supposed to have had somebody else here.

She turned around and found the cadet that she had called 'Private' earlier, flat on his butt and staring at her with utter horror all over his face—the girl didn't seem to notice it, though. She skipped over to him cheerily, but before she could come any closer he had drawn his sidearm, shooting a single round before the gun was swiftly slapped out of his hands. He winced from the move, holding both of his hands close in pain.

"Hey! Is that how you're supposed to behave?" The girl was already standing over him, grabbing both sides of his helmet and shaking him like a maraca before letting him go. "Cheer up, we won!"

"Y-You killed them!" The cadet uttered, almost tripping with his words.

"Yeah, so?"

"W-What do you mean? Is that what you'd say after you just butchered an _entire_ squadron?"

The girl straightened and waved a sleeve(or a hand; whatever blows your skirt up) off-handedly, casually saying, "Oh, stuff and nonsense. They weren't very good anyway. Plus that Mr. Grumpy S. Oldier guy wasn't very friendly."

The girl gave him a bemused look when he didn't reply, probably having a hard time taking it in. The cadet slowly cowered away when he saw the girl's hands/sleeves reach out for him, but she had already caught his helmet in a solid grip. He felt her give it a tug, and when the thought came to mind that she could probably rip his head right off, he immediately unbuckled the straps keeping his helmet in place.

He didn't try looking at the girl directly, but he heard her giving an 'ooh' of interest when she finally had his helmet off him. He felt her sleeves/hands handle his face and slowly directed his attention towards her, and he saw a slight tinge of red on her cheeks before she grinned and said, "You're pretty cute."

He didn't know if that was a telltale sign that she either liked him or wanted to eat him up.

The girl straightened up and clapped her hands together, suddenly having an idea spring up in her head. "Oh, I know," she said merrily, "I'll make you my personal butler!"

_What._ "B-Butler?"

"Yeah," The girl answered enthusiastically, "You'll make my tea, be all bishie, maybe be my bodyguard, perhaps make a contract with me, accompany me around places…"

Something about the girl didn't quite click with the cadet. She was… pretty annoying, for one. Considering where he was in, a district known around the world as 'The center of anime culture,' he concluded that the girl was probably fond of the place; all this stuff she said about being a butler didn't make any sense to him.

The girl continued to ramble on and on about 'butler-related' bull and the cadet didn't understand a thing. She was about to say something about a Ciel Phantomwhatever(he just stopped paying attention) when he spoke up.

"I'm not a fucking babysitter!" The cadet said, instantly regretting it when he remembered his disadvantageous situation.

The girl smacked his mouth with a sleeve, knocking him flat on the ground. Fortunately, the snow cushioned his fall, but, also unfortunately, he ended up getting his hair wet.

"Bad! A butler shouldn't swear in front of his mistress! Keep that in mind, Private Sebastian!"

"Mrphghr…" the cadet had apparently forgotten that he had covered his mouth, "I'm not a Private, and neither is my name Sebastian…!"

"Huh?" The girl stopped, slowly bringing a hand/sleeve to her chin, seemingly contemplating about something. "Oh!" she suddenly frowned when she realized that the way she wore her sleeves didn't give her the liberty of snapping her fingers, so instead she just clapped her hands/sleeves together. "Right, right, right… We still haven't introduced ourselves, have we? What's your name, then…?"

The cadet hesitated for a moment before replying, "It's… Roland. Roland Shepard."

The girl tilted her head. "Ronald Sheperd?"

"R-Roland Shepard…" The cadet replied, mildly correcting her.

The girl's eyebrows ruffled. "Ruroland Shapherd?"

_Urgh_. "Roland Shepard!"

"Roland… Roland…" The girl muttered, letting the unfamiliar name roll on her tongue, "Sounds cool! And now it's my turn~!" The girl brightened, extending a hand/sleeve forward for a handshake, "My name is Deceit, but my friends call me Nafhe. However, since you're my butler now, I'd like you to refer to me as 'milady'!"

'Roland' took her hand in his, and, underneath the fabric, he was rather surprised when he found out how small it was compared to his; how the heck was she able to mow down an entire squad of soldiers single-handedly with these?

He was reluctant in saying out the ridiculous designation, but then again, his life probably depended on it. "Yes… Milady."

"Come on, let's go!" 'Nafhe' yanked hard enough to bring him to his feet, and he yelped when he almost stumbled again before she caught him. "We'll look for a suit later; pretty sure there's a lot left here in Akiba, you know?"

"You want me to wear a _suit_?" Roland exclaimed. As if calling her 'Milady' wasn't bad enough!

"Duh, don't all good butlers do?" She let go of him and shuffled around her clothes, searching her pockets for something. Roland was about to ask what she was looking for before she procured two small knob-like objects from her hoodie pocket. She handed them over to him, a confused look on his face.

"Earplugs?" Roland asked, somewhat recognizing the small things in his hand.

Nafhe shrugged. "Sorta. Just put them on later, 'kay? Wouldn't want my new butler to have his brains fried."

Roland's eyes widened in recognition.

Now, he wasn't exactly too knowledgeable because of how things went during his time as a trainee and his rather brief experience, but he could still remember certain subjects that higher-ups would teach new recruits about. Officers or teachers would give them instructions on how to wield certain weaponry, give them information about the _vast_ array of tools and advanced gadgets in the military, how to survive in harsh environments, how to patch yourself up when medics got downed—all the military thingamajigs that should take people a long time to understand, and poor ol' Roland had less than a month to try and learn everything.

But there was a certain little device that really, literally burned itself into his memory; he had been as fascinated as a child when the weapon was shown to him and his fellow trainees, and the short moment when it was demonstrated had made sure its risky use was something they would all remember. It wasn't everyday you came across a weapon that made everything within a hundred meters horribly suffer, after all.

Nafhe tilted her head when she saw the look on Roland's face, going back to her usual demeanor when she recognized his situation. "Oh, so you know what those are for?"

Roland nodded nervously. "If you don't mind me asking… are you going to use that on this 'Sickle-girl?'"

"Nopers, I just made sure I brought it just in case things go sour!"

"What do you mean?"

Nafhe puffed up her cheeks and said, "You ask too many questions…" Nafhe turned away and waved him over, gesturing for them to leave. "Come on, let's get going. We've got a first-class target to catch!"

_We, huh…? _Roland simply conceded, deciding that he shouldn't ask any more questions in case he unintentionally pushed the wrong buttons.

* * *

><p>Deathscythe knew that Gold Saw was extremely deadly, even for the Otherworld's standards—coming from a realm that housed a populace of battle-hardened warriors that had killing or being killed as a near-daily routine that was saying something. She was known for her ruthlessness in battle, easily overpowering lesser foes with the brute strength that her attacks delivered.<p>

There were rumors that perhaps the very personification of bloodshed just shared her traits from a literally demonic heritage, possibly where her infamous appearance had been taken from. Each Otherworlder who held great significance over the physical realm had stories of their own; Gold Saw's being one that was unheard of. Others who wanted to know more just ended up in pieces.

One thing was clear, though: whether you thought you could take her on or not, just don't mess with her.

Deathscythe thought otherwise.

She just loved the thrill of battle, a trait that she prided herself with. She was a merciless killer that showed no remorse, preferring a combination of inhuman dexterity and rock-solid strength rather than quick thinking and stalwart defense; she found the latter traits ineffectual due to how resilient their race's bodies were.

But when push comes to shove, Deathscythe would bring out her secondary form, a being she proudly christened the Deathbringer.

In this form, her abilities were exceedingly multiplied in power in such a manner that she could easily take down stronger opponents with relative ease. She would become a walking mass of death and destruction, her seemingly fragile weapon made able to cut down legions if she wished. Her blade responded to her will as easily as if it were another limb, performing feats that defied the laws of reality at a whim.

So Deathscythe, for the first time since her advent into the physical world, felt confused.

How was it possible for her to suddenly use her trump card against a powerful foe—one that wasn't even half at full strength—and only manage to even the odds?

Instead of frustration, Deathscythe only felt a strange sense of glee. She found a respectable warrior in the seemingly fragile woman before her, someone who could handle all the pain sent her way and still keep on fighting! She was finally facing an opponent worthy of her admiration, and she just loved it!

The amused grin on her face did not go unnoticed.

"Having fun?" 'Saya' asked, hammering Deathscythe back with a solid strike. Metal screeched and gonged, sparks went flying, concrete shattered, but it was barely enough to overpower the sounds of their voices.

Deathscythe laughed, twirling her blade with unprecedented skill and dexterity as she advanced toward Saya. "OH _HELL_ YES!"

Saya sprinted towards Deathscythe with her blade drawn, launching herself into the air and bringing it down. Deathscythe immediately raised her scythe's long shaft to block, letting their weapons meet with a resounding clang. Quicker than even Deathscythe's heightened senses could detect, Saya had shifted her blade and latched on to her opponent's scythe with its teeth.

Saya yanked the scythe off Deathscythe's grip as she swung back to the ground, catapulting it away and getting it lodged into the far wall. Saya immediately raised the flat of her blade and shielded herself from a powerful punch, then pushing her now taller opponent back before placing a solid kick right to the stomach.

With her enhance mass and stability, the kick only managed to knock Deathscythe away a few feet instead of being blown away.

"You do realize that I can just summon my scythe back into my hands, right?" she said, "My blade obeys my every command as if it has a life of its own—it would do you good to remember that!"

Saya brandished her blade in a hefty stance. "Spare me the bullshit and get on with it."

Deathscythe smirked. "Gladly."

With a clench of her fist, the scythe suddenly dislodged itself right off the wall and spun towards Saya. It almost resembled a large disk in shape with the speed it was going, the deadly steel making a noise not unlike a buzzsaw's. Saya quickly batted it away with her sword in one mighty slam, unexpectedly creating a massive shockwave that showed how powerful that scythe's attack would have been.

That left Saya open for another one.

Saya snapped her head back just in time to see Deathscythe's fist make contact with her face. She was knocked out of focus for a split-second, almost getting her bearings when she saw her opponent's armored foot coming her way and socking her out again, feeling it strong enough to literally send her spinning. Before Saya could crash into the solid floor, another kick slammed her down hard and knocked her several meters away.

Saya groaned with her face against the floor, raising her head in time to see Deathscythe's weapon make its way back to its owner's hand. The tall woman smiled smugly at her, an accompanying snicker making Saya want to return the favor with something a little more painful. She stood up and wiped off the blood from her nose, then spitting a glob of mixed saliva and blood before returning Deathscythe's gaze.

"Nice shot." Saya said.

Deathscythe laughed. "Thanks. You should be more careful, though. I've got more tricks up my sleeve than there are people left in this damned place."

"You're not wearing any." Saya said before charging towards her opponent, swinging her blade in a horizontal arc.

"Got time to talk in the middle of a fight, huh? I like it!" Deathscythe caught the attack with her own weapon, sending more sparks flying. She quickly adjusted her position and tried to bash Saya's face with another swift kick before her opponent raised an arm just in time to block it.

"It's a little late for you to say that, you know," Saya answered.

She quickly grabbed Deathscythe's attacking leg with her free hand. Deathscythe yelped when Saya managed to seize her into the air, and the older woman swung her in a large arc before crashing Deathscythe's face right into the floor and smashing the concrete. Deathscythe tried to hold on to the floor when she felt Saya yanking her again into the air, once again slamming her down with nothing but a single hand and brute strength.

Saya built some momentum by swinging Deathscythe around once, twice, before she flung her upwards, sending her airborne for the umpteenth time since the start of this scuffle. If she had the time, Saya would have laughed at the sight of Deathscythe flailing wildly; it was obvious that she didn't quite agree with not being anywhere near the ground, especially when it usually ended with a painful collision with the floor.

She decided to take that world of pain a couple degrees higher; in the blink of an eye, Saya amassed enough power in her legs and launched after Deathscythe. She drew her blade back, just in time to see the wide-eyed look on her opponent's face that, quite obviously, spoke two simple words:

_Oh shit._

Saya slammed her blade against Deathscythe with bunker-busting force, strong enough to create a shockwave that caused the building to shudder in its wake. Deathscythe yelled in pain as she was blasted back down to the earth, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. Saya dropped back down and immediately sprinted towards the spot that she assumed was the center of the crash, her blade drawn and ready to strike at a moment's notice.

The dust cloud was slowly encompassing the hall, obscuring Saya's field of vision by a large margin. And from the rather noticeable lack of noise, it gave her the suspicion that Deathscythe was using it to her advantage. That slam may have left her disoriented, but she knew it was barely enough to put her out of commission. Saya stood still, her limbs poised and ready to start another round of clashing steel. Her eyes slowly shifted left and right and she let her breathing die down, using both sight and hearing to try and pinpoint where her opponent was.

_Clack._

Saya's limbs sprang her into motion, her sword immediately swung in the sound's direction. When she only felt its tip break through concrete, she instantly swung her sword in a circle around her, realizing that she had fallen for—

"SURPRISE!"

Saya turned just in time to feel a large wave of white energy slam into her, effectively knocking her away and dispelling the cloud of dust. Saya managed to get on her feet and struck her sword into the ground, stopping her wild skate.

Deathscythe laughed. "Damn, that sure was a good one! Did I get ya?"

"Har har," Saya replied with all the enthusiasm of a brick wall, yanking her blade free, "And no, no you didn't."

Deathscythe frowned a little, her head slightly tilting as her white eyes narrowed lazily. "I thought you were enjoying this."

"That's right, you _thought_ you did." Saya answered, setting her blade slightly behind her as it started glowing with a menacing red, "I guess I just don't like loud-mouthed knuckleheads like you who don't seem to know a lot."

Deathscythe groaned childishly, "Oh come on, you can't be thinking that I'm dumb, right?"

"Close, but no," Saya replied, "Maybe your head's just a bit too thick, since all the blows I've been giving it weren't enough to knock a little more sense into you."

"Please, _grandma_," Deathscythe whined, "We've been around since Adam and his bitch got kicked out of Eden! You think a couple thousand years isn't enough for me to learn a few things?"

Saya gave her a small grin, showing signs of amusement in her tone. "I bet you're still the type who would suck at algebra, though."

"I've learned mathematics a thousand times in a thousand lifetimes!" Deathscythe defended, bringing a hand to her chest, "Heck, even my new host's a student from a top-tier high school! Just look through Irino's memories! I'm sure she's noticed this girl's academic performance sometime."

Saya laughed. "Your host's personality must be getting to you. Fukube-chan, wasn't it? Now you're just acting like a kid."

"Your fault." Deathscythe answered, scowling at her.

"Well then," Saya started, brandishing her blade and fixing her stance. She set her other hand on the side of her weapon, unaffected by the heat it was now emitting. "Keep your ears sharp, Deathscythe, because I'm about to teach you a lesson."

Deathscythe readied her own blade, making sure she would be able to deflect any blow that would come her way. "You don't mean that in the figurative sense, do you?"

In an explosion of red, Saya zoomed right towards her opponent, letting their own weapons meet in a sharp clang. Deathscythe's feet broke through the concrete below when it happened, caught surprised by the sudden increase in Saya's strength as they grappled metal against metal. Despite her tremendous enhancement in physical strength, Deathscythe could feel her muscles straining against Saya's assault.

"Here's a question for you," Saya said, "How do you win a war?"

Mustering as much power as she could in her limbs, Deathscythe started pushing Saya back. "…you engage the enemy."

"That's how you _fight_ it," Saya answered. She suddenly thrust her grip upwards, making Deathscythe lose her hold. Her mistake at trying to push harder gave Saya the chance to get behind her, receiving a direct blow to the back of her head that sent her stumbling forward.

Deathscythe groaned from the pain in her skull, keeping one hand on it and the other on her scythe. She quickly turned to face Saya, who had surprisingly not taken advantage of her susceptible state.

"To fight a war, one needs many things," Saya said, "Strategy, brilliance, intuition, weapons, soldiers, among so much more…"

Deathscythe wasted no time and dashed after Saya, their weapons sparking as they collided with each other again. This time, Saya didn't even seem to exert the slightest bit of effort at standing her ground.

"The answer I was expecting…" Saya swung her blade again, pushing Deathscythe back when she dodged. Her opponent somersaulted away, putting a lot of distance between them.

"…is all too simple!" Saya sprinted after her, the great sword in her hands emitting so much of its red haze to leave a smoking trail as it cut through the air. She suddenly tossed her blade upwards and jumped after it, seizing the end of the hilt and using her momentum to spin like a saw in midair.

"YOU DESTROY THE ENEMY—"

Deathscythe dodged backwards before the blazing sword could strike, but Saya unexpectedly used the gathered energy and followed with a ground-shaking slam into the ground with her blade and unleashed a _massive_ crescent-shaped mass of red energy right at Deathscythe, the great vertical wave cutting through both the floor and the ceiling in its destructive trail.

"—BEFORE THEY DESTROY YOU!"

The sudden move caught Deathscythe off guard, scoring a direct hit that knocked her away. The blade of energy kept on going long after striking her, stopping only when it finally met a wall and leaving another structural scar in the facility.

"FUCK!" Deathscythe swore from the pain and collapsed on her knees, her scythe left clattering on the ground without anything to hold it. She grit her teeth when she saw that her opponent's move left a large gash from her left shoulder towards her right side, damaging the resilient armor. Fresh blood dripped from her wound, leaking onto the ground and mixing with filth.

It was a _miracle_ that attack hadn't sliced her in two.

"O-Ouch…" Deathscythe winced.

She heard the sound of steady footsteps approaching, and she raised her head to see Saya indifferently twirling her blade before leveling the tip at her face. _Again_.

"Well," Saya grinned, "Class dismissed?"

"No way…" Deathscythe's weapon made its way back to her grip, "I STILL GOT CLEANUP DUTY!" she swung the blade horizontally at Saya, who easily dodged by casually leaning back. Saya returned the favor by kicking her square in the chest, sending Deathscythe tumbling at an awkward angle and inadvertently painting the floor a streak of red.

Saya raised her guard when she noticed the same white haze that heralded Deathscythe's earlier transformation leaking from her body. She used her scythe's shaft to weakly keep herself on her legs, and Saya noticed that she was also coughing up blood. Deathscythe's body glowed for a moment, and in a mild burst of that white miasma she was back to her original form and she collapsed on the ground; her current state probably couldn't keep herself in her superpowered form any longer.

Saya, for some reason she couldn't explain, suddenly felt concerned—the _real_ Saya, that is. Deathscythe may have shown her no mercy when the scales were tipping in her favor, but she was still a girl from the highschool that she worked for.

Gold Saw felt Saya's sentiments from their connection, and she found herself agreeing somewhat.

_Somewhat_.

"Give it up!" 'Saya' said, "You can't fight any longer!"

She heard her opponent grunting in reply, weakly raising herself on her arms. She grabbed her scythe from its place on the ground and glanced up at Saya, again using her weapon to steady herself. She charged right for Saya with a savage cry, to which her opponent sighed in frustration.

Saya caught Deathscythe's weapon with her own, but there was barely any strength in her attack; Deathscythe seemed to be leaning on her weapon rather than forcing the blade home. Saya knocked Deathscythe's weapon out of her hands and backhanded her, almost bashing her away before she used the flat of her blade to bludgeon her upwards, launching her into the air. Before Deathscythe could drop back to the ground Saya caught her with a kick, sending her painfully to the ground.

'Saya' approached the girl, ignoring her real self's demands on not harming her battered foe any longer. Deathscythe only glared when Saya leveled her blade at her again.

"Yield!" Saya barked.

Deathscythe kept her gaze at Saya for several moments before she clenched her eyes shut, speaking with a cracking voice, "N-No…"

"Are you really this thick-headed?" Saya said, "Are you really so stupid to think that you can still keep fighting in your condition?"

"Don't mock me!" Deathscythe shouted back, "I'll see this through… I'm not giving up until either one of us no longer draws breath!"

"Do you want to die that much?"

"I want to _live_ that much!" Deathscythe answered, "T-This fight… it's more than just another scuffle for me, you got that? The Otherworld never gave us death; nothing to risk for in meaningless battles! It was nothing but a prison for me—for all of us! Can't you see how aggravating it was that we aren't allowed to die in that hellhole?!

"Fighting, fighting, fighting… without ever having the privilege of dying honorably in a real battle! All my existence, I was convinced we were all living a breathing, walking death—but not anymore! We've finally found our way back to mortal being, and I've finally been given the chance to either face death at last…" Deathscythe paused for a moment, a fire of conviction in her fierce gaze. "Or win the first _real_ battle I've had in an eternity!"

"So go ahead, damn it!" she said, "Kill me! I accept my loss… I've had the fight of my life… so… just kill me."

For several moments, 'Saya' just stood there, keeping her gaze and her blade straight at her downed foe. The real Saya, from within, was just as silent—she probably knew there was no helping it now, especially after the words the opponent had spoken.

"So be it." Saya said, slowly raising her golden blade above her head in an executioner's stance. "I'll remember this fight, kid; I promise you that."

Deathscythe closed her eyes, awaiting her end in acceptance.

"I don't think so!"

_Click._

Saya suddenly screamed in agony, dropping her blade behind her where it pierced the ground from its sheer weight. She clutched at her head tightly in her anguish, dropping on her knees and right beside Deathscythe. A sharp, searing pain in her skull was accompanied with an utterly nauseating sensation and a strange buzzing noise, one that she couldn't locate with how much her brain felt like it was suddenly set on fire and clubbed to pieces while being struck with a hail of needles.

Deathscythe backed away, utterly bewildered with what was going on. "G-Gold Saw, what's wrong?!"

Saya's other hand went to her stomach, clutching it just as tightly through the thick fabric of her clothes as she had held her head. She continued to spasm violently against the cold, dust-covered floor, getting dirt on her hair and clothes as she writhed and screamed. Saya suddenly blanched once, twice, halting her screaming for a moment before she tried to cover her mouth, then suddenly vomiting grotesquely on the floor.

Deathscythe's stunned gaze shifted from confusion to anger. She steadied herself on her arms and shouted, "WHO ARE YOU?! SHOW YOURSELF, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

"Up heeeere~"

Deathscythe looked up and was rewarded with an unexpected—and extremely unwelcome—arrival. Nafhe was standing on the edge of a hole in the roof that was probably made by the earlier scuffle. She had a grin on her face, casually tossing a small black box with ease; Deathscythe noticed that the buzzing noise was coming from it.

"Deceit?" she growled, "What are you doing here?"

Without so much as a reply, Nafhe jumped off and plummeted right towards them. Ignoring the pain in her fatal wounds, Deathscythe gathered as much strength as she could and pounced towards Saya, grabbing the older woman and keeping her out of Nafhe's collateral damage zone. She shielded Saya with her own body, barely absorbing the resulting shockwave created by Nafhe's plunge.

Deathscythe turned and saw Nafhe in the center of a rather large crater, and the girl straightened before frowning at her.

"No fair," Nafhe said, "I would've gotten this job over and done with!"

"Damn you!" Deathscythe barked, keeping Saya close. "What the hell did you do?!"

"Just put the old lady out of commission for now," Nafhe nonchalantly approached, still tossing the box from one sleeve-covered hand to the other. "You were taking too long, you know. Figured I'd just do your job for ya and steal the glory."

"You shitheap!" Deathscythe swore, "This is _my_ job—_my_ fight! Genocide's gonna have your head for this!"

"On the contrary," Nafhe countered, "It was our new boss that sent me to do this, so I don't think old man Gen is gonna have problems with me."

The nonchalant answer took Deathscythe aback for a moment. Her expression quickly lapsed back to a face of rage and she growled, "The fuck are you talking about?!"

Nafhe put a hand on her chin, trying to recall a simple little detail. "Hm… I guess it had something to do with taking you out of the picture."

"What…?"

"Weeeeell," Nafhe slurred, her voice clearly indicating that she did not take the situation seriously, "That little flame thingie thought that we didn't really need people like you on the team—people obsessed by all this 'warrior's honor' claptrap."

"I don't see you people bitching about the Dragon Slayer," Deathscythe hissed, "What difference did I make?"

Nafhe stuck out her tongue at her; had it been any other situation, anyone would have accepted it as just the girl's childish behavior at work, but now it was just as bad as spitting in Deathscythe's face.

"Dragon Slayer is a natural leader, and she's got an army of cuties at her disposal! Compared to her, what are you? Nothing but a face and a name, aren't you, _Deathscythe_?" Nafhe spat her name as if it were poison on her tongue, infuriating her more.

"You little shit…" Deathscythe's attention was stolen when she noticed that Saya had already stopped screaming. Worry was immediately replaced by relief when she saw that the woman was still breathing, albeit weakly. Somewhat hesitantly, she carefully placed Saya back on the ground and stood, paying no mind to her wounds and slowly walking towards Nafhe.

Nafhe grinned. "Coming for payback?"

That same miasma of white exploded from Deathscythe's body, transforming her into the Deathbringer in an instant. Her scythe flew back into her hands, and with a savage roar her legs launched her right towards Nafhe, bringing her weapon over her head to slice her in two.

"_Too slow."_

Those were the words Deathscythe heard before she abruptly crashed back down to the earth, her stomach suddenly impaled with a large army knife. She groaned in pain as her hands left her scythe, grabbing the knife's hilt and pulling it out—but unfortunately, she had forgotten about its serrated, saw-toothed edge that unintentionally ripped a bigger hole. She cursed from the pain, snapping her head to send an acid-strong glare in Nafhe's direction.

The girl just laughed harder, adding even more fuel to her rage. "Hahaha! See how stupid you look? Guess I was lucky that Gold Saw already wiped the floor with you!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Deathscythe tried to stand, suddenly dropping on her knees when the stinging pain in her wounds worsened. "D-Damn it…"

"Wuss," Nafhe ribbed.

Deathscythe winced when she tried to yell back at her. She looked down and saw that she was losing even more blood, her strength draining with the trickling flow.

She could feel the Deathbringer slowly ebbing away as well. _"N-NO! Not now!"_ She screamed in her head.

She tried to keep her focus on keeping her form, trying to drown out the pain. Her ethereal power sparked for a moment, dimming in the semblance of a dying bulb. This time, when she couldn't keep her strength up, the Deathbringer was dispelled in small hazes of white instead; a testament to how much power had left her.

_No._

_It wasn't supposed to end like this!_

Deathscythe's forehead met the cold floor, the overwhelming feeling of failure crushing what remained of her pride. She would have accepted death without hesitation, all because she had gained what she had always wanted… Dying in the hands of someone she admired was as good as being proud of everything one had done in life before passing away…

But where was the glory in this picture?

Receiving a fatality from someone so big-headedly arrogant, someone who took advantage of her weakened state to deal a killing blow just like any coward would fight? A pathetic excuse for a warrior that stabs from the back instead of facing adversaries head on? Someone who swiped victory from her grasp when she had only tasted it, sending an eternity's worth of toils and trials down the drain?

It was ridicule of the lowest sort.

Deceit… certainly lived up to her name.

"You giving up already?" the girl said with a sickening smile on her face, mimicking Saya's earlier proposal.

Deathscythe grit her teeth and clenched her eyes shut, screaming, "FUCK YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

Nafhe chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes."

Strength slowly left Deathscythe's limbs, letting her droop down onto the cold floor. Yet her persistence wouldn't let her succumb to death, and she weakly moved her head to see Nafhe slowly making her way towards Saya.

"Never thought it'd be this easy," Nafhe said.

"What the hell did you do?" 'Saya' asked raggedly.

Nafhe put up the small box-shaped device in her hands for Saya to see. "I just used this little fella on ya. It sure has quite a bite, doesn't it?"

She turned a knob on the device, and suddenly that buzzing sound returned and Saya's hands went to her skull again, though the pain wasn't as bad as before. "It's called a Subsonic Frequency Emitter. Can't say how it really works, but I do know that if I turn the frequencies up even more…"

She demonstrated by slowly winding the knob on the device, and Saya screamed even louder. "…first, it'll make you real dizzy, then outright nauseous, until it'll fry your brain so bad it'll turn into goo!" Nafhe deactivated the device again, leaving Saya a panting wreck.

"H-how…" Saya wheezed.

"Weeeeeell…." Nafhe said, "Special earplugs can be used to block out the frequencies, but I don't really need 'em. Know why? For some reason, we Otherworlders aren't affected by the frequencies no matter how strong they get."

She turned her attention back to a weakly furious Deathscythe, having heard ever word. "Me and Deathscythe can't feel its effects, but," she turned her gaze back to Saya, "you haven't made the unification with your host yet, am I right? It's no wonder you're already at your limit."

"What…?" Saya breathed, "What… what do you want?"

"Deathscythe didn't tell you yet?" Nafhe slightly tilted her head, awaiting an answer. When she figured that the woman was too worn out to give one, she shrugged and walked over towards Saya's golden blade, looking into the eyes of the skull on its hilt. "I guess I'll have to show you."

She grabbed the hilt and yanked the blade free from the ground, bringing it closer to herself. Her other hand gently caressed the small skull, seemingly marveled with how much detail was put into its creation. When she heard Saya growl, her lips formed into a foreboding grin.

"Your sword, the King Saw…" she started, "It's nothing but an empty shell, isn't it? It's a weapon that thirsts for bloodshed just as much as you—that is, if had the right consciousness in its place…"

She held the blade upside-down like a staff, leveling the skull right at Saya. "Yours."

"N… No…!" Deathscythe rasped.

With a soft click, Nafhe forced the skull's jaw open, and from its small gaps a light suddenly sparked to life. Hazes of red energy seeped out of Saya, the crimson miasma slowly being sucked into the small skull's open maw. Saya grimaced and screamed even louder than ever, slowly being sapped of the power that was keeping her alive.

"NO!"

* * *

><p>From within, the real Saya Irino fell to her knees, grasping her chest in pain. She could feel energy leave her physical body, the weapon she called her own suddenly used against her.<p>

All around her, the seemingly endless void of white was falling apart like a crude sand castle, the large white pillars that made up the landscape of this pocket realm falling to pieces. Massive fissures marked the white skies, cracking like shattering glass in a horrifying spiderweb of ethereal ruin. The ground trembled, even larger fissures forming across the earth as a massive quake wrecked the entire realm.

"G-Gold Saw!" Saya screamed, "What's happening?!"

Even amongst the din of chaos, Saya was able to make out the sound of heavy footsteps coming toward her. Trying her best to steady herself with shaking limbs, she raised her head to see her Other Self walking towards her, a stoic expression on her pale face.

Saya never expected what would happen next: Gold Saw brought her large hand forward and the pain in Saya's body worsened. She could not put her pain into words, her mind a jumbled mess with how much she was screaming; she could have sworn that she heard Gold Saw scream too, but she thought that was probably something her disoriented hearing had misinterpreted.

The pain was way too much for Saya to have a handle on anything else. She could not discern how much time had gone, and the closest thing she could use to describe it was that it felt like eternity until the pain ceased.

When Saya opened her eyes, her breath caught in her throat when she saw someone who looked exactly like herself standing in front of her. The false Saya's demeanor was somewhat diffident, both hands placed behind her as an apologetic expression displayed on her face. Before Saya could ask, the duplicate spoke, her words clear despite the destruction around them.

"_Well,"_ 'Saya' shrugged before saying, _"I guess this'll be goodbye."_

That voice was unmistakably familiar. "G-Gold Saw? What happened? Why do you—"

Before she could finish, she felt a slight tug on her entire body that was slowly sending her backwards. Saya struggled against the pull, but her efforts were in vain. The force grew stronger by the second, gradually pulling her away from the false Saya.

Her feet dug into the ground as she tried even harder to resist the pull. "Gold Saw! What's happening?! Tell me, please!"

'Saya' did not give her a reply, instead pointing a finger at her. It took her a second to realize what she was trying to indicate, and she slowly moved her eyes downward…

…and saw that her hands were a lot larger than they used to be; they didn't always have a skeletal shape, did they…?

Saya's head snapped back up at the person that she thought just copied her face; now she realized it was much, much more than that.

"_Sorry I placed you in my shoes, Saya,"_ Gold Saw answered her unmentioned question, _"Unification would have taken too long, you know? It was the only way I could think of."_

"Damn it, Gold Saw!" Saya screamed, "Why are you doing this?! You think I'm better off alone?!"

Gold Saw placed her gaze on the ground and answered, _"I'm just an old lady who's long overdue for death's embrace; I should've burned long ago for all the wrongs I've done… all the lives I've taken."_ She turned her eyes back on Saya and continued, _"All twenty-eight years of your life is barely a breath compared to mine, but… I have to be honest and say that they were the best I ever had. Seriously," _she chuckled_, "You were the best thing that ever happened to a lonely old murderer."_

"Don't sweet-talk your way out of this!" Saya yelled, almost at the brink of tears, "You can't do this, damn it! Please, just stop! I'll be alone! What makes you think this'll do me any good?!"

"_I'm so sorry, Saya," _Gold Saw said, not keeping her gaze away, "_But there's no way I'm letting you die._"

The pull was now far too strong for Saya to fight against. She was already being sent away, her senses vanishing as she was pulled into unconsciousness. Keeping it at bay with all of her strength, one of her hands reached out for her old friend helplessly, screaming her name one last time. "**GOOOLD SAAAW!**"

The being wearing Saya's face gave her one last apologetic smile, her half-raised hand waving her goodbye.

* * *

><p>When the last wisps of red had been absorbed into the King Saw, Saya finally stopped screaming. Nafhe twirled the blade and brought it closer, admiring its features as it emitted a red haze; the glowing effect made the weapon look more menacing than ever. She turned back to Saya and said, "Well, I guess you're just another human now."<p>

'Saya' opened her eyes, looking right up at her executioner. Her gaze moved from the girl up to the blade she held, slowly going back down to the skull on the hilt. It was now glowing with an ethereal red light, slowly pulsing with the power of what it now held within. The skull seemed to stare right back at her, its bright red eyeholes examining her with a facade void of expression.

She smiled. Her gamble had paid off; Saya was saved.

She laid her head back down, unconcerned with the coldness pressing against her; her senses were slowly numbening, so that barely mattered anyway.

Nafhe frowned. "What're you smiling about?"

"Nothing… Just thought… I'd be too obsessed with… trying to stay alive… in this hell… that I never thought… I'd go like this…" Saya's answer was a ragged one, momentary pauses made to take in much-needed breaths.

"Aren't you afraid?" Nafhe said, "Don't you want me to let you live? Or do you want me to just make it quick?"

"Negative… on all counts…" Saya replied. She looked back at Nafhe again, a weak grin on her lips.

"That's strange…" Nafhe brought up the king Saw, plunging it into the earth. She lazily leaned on its large hilt, slightly tilting her head with a bemused expression on her face. "Aren't you humans always so frightened? I kind of expected you to beg for mercy while I raise this golden toothpick over your neck."

"No being… mortal or otherwise... can… escape their end… once it comes… for them…" Saya said, her fading gaze still having a spark of stalwart defiance. "If… I have to… die now… it won't be… as a coward…"

Nafhe scoffed. "That's an old-fashioned way of thinking, lady! I wouldn't think you crazy if you just tried to yell in my face."

Saya managed a weak laugh. "Believe me… I seriously want… to… spit… in your stupid face… right now…" an attempt at a shrug only made her wince in pain. "It's too bad… what you just did… made… too much… of a number on me…"

"Awww, that's too bad," Nafhe said mockingly, "So I just robbed you of your chance to go out in a blaze of glory, huh? I won't apologize, though. I'm just following orders. Nothing personal, m'kay?"

"Huh…" Saya's gaze slowly shifted back towards the King Saw. She weakly raised a finger and pointed at it, a small action that caught Nafhe's attention. "What… do you plan… on doing with it…?"

Nafhe shrugged. "No idea. I guess it'd be for something big, but I didn't really care."

Saya frowned. "That sword… is more than… just a tool… for me… Can't I at least… know… what you're going… to do… with it…?"

"My seniors just told me to take care of the both of you and return with this," Nafhe answered, "That's all that happened, 'kay?"

"You weren't called… Deceit… for being honest…"

"Well, that's up to you to believe if I'm lying or not," Nafhe said, giving Saya a cheeky smile before slowly walking closer. "Anyway, can I kill you now? I don't wanna spend all day chatting while waiting for your lights to go out."

She left the sword on its post on the ground, bending down to grab Saya by her coat. The older woman grunted in pain when she was roughly lifted, forcibly brought to her knees. Without the strength to keep herself up, she looked like a lifeless doll only supported by Nafhe's strong grip. The girl held Saya with one hand, the other bringing out another large, jagged knife hidden in her sleeves with the flick of a wrist.

As Nafhe raised the blade to end Saya's life, the older woman's weak gaze slowly moved towards the only other occupant of the great hall. Deathscythe's eyes were wide open, speaking of tormenting amounts of anger, hatred, and dejection; small tears slowly dropped down her face, one of her hands reaching out for Saya in a futile attempt to stop the execution happening right before her eyes.

Saya spared her one last rueful smile before she felt her throat sliced open; the coppery taste of her own blood choking her was the last thing she felt before her vision faded away into blackness.

* * *

><p><strong>Here's another shoutout for users Tachibana Wish and The Black Maiden for helping a little with this chapter. Thanks for the assistance, you two. 'Preciate it~! :D<strong>

**Well, how was this chapter? Write a little review and let me know~!**


	17. Chapter 15: The Bigger They Are

**Half a year since the last update. HALF A YEAR. Wow. This fanfic's been around for more than a year, but it's still **_**far**_** from being halfway done. Good grief... (/-_-; )**

**I won't be long. I'll try to explain some of the reasons why I haven't updated in such a long time...**

**First off: other things that occupy my time. Reading books and other fanfiction, checking news articles, updating my DeviantArt page, watching anime or playing video games. However, even if those really would place such a hamper on my time, they just appear a tad insignificant compared to the following.**

**Second: school issues. I had been a graduating student, and extra work (including the looming thought that I'm going to be in college **_**in a few days**_**) easily occupied my thoughts and left little to no room for creativity or motivation.**

**Last-and perhaps the worst reason for my agonizing period of increativity... Well, it was the fact that the future of the BRS franchise looks bleak. The Innocent Soul and Black Rock-chan manga series have both ended (and even though they had very good endings, they didn't leave much of an impression), the much-awaited US release of the Game wasn't received with as much enthusiasm as expected, the 2012 Anime was called "the worst of the year" by many sources (WHAT THE F$# &), and the Arcana app doesn't seem to be all that popular with the majority of the worldwide BRS fanbase.**

**Just thinking about it dampened my spirit. It was a passing word that I had simply heard at first, but when I made an entirely idiotic decision to put more thought into the notion, my motivation was shot out of the air. Not as much as an airborne bird downed by bullet, either. More like a psycho of a terrorist shot down Air Force One with the President on and left the world with jaws hanging.**

**Okay, maybe I was exaggerating with that one, but still; I just felt horrible.**

**There was very little that motivated me at that point. A lot of blood-pumpingly epic titles have been showing up lately (Attack on Titan and Pacific Rim, to name a few), but the thought that Black Rock Shooter might not get another shot at gaining the attention of popular media just lingered like an annoying, unreachable itch.**

**I'll be blunt: I'm someone with high standards. If a story, show, movie or whatever doesn't strum at my heartstrings, make me weep like a soap opera, leave a lingering cliffhanger, or make my blood pump with adrenalin-infused excitement out of sheer epicness, then I won't think it's good.**

**But then new stuff-**_**good**_** stuff suddenly showed up here on FF. It was as unexpected as a tap on the back, but when I turned to face it, it slapped me in the face like a slippery fish. **_**Holy flying beef turds**_**. FujoshiPrince's stuff was **_**exactly**_** the motivation I needed. I'm not a big fan of one-shots, but I found his (or hers?) to be especially entertaining. Yeah, if you're reading this, just know that I'm really, **_**really **_**happy you made those stories when you did.**

_**Then**_** there's Nicolas Crossworth with his BRS: Innocent SoulxHyperdimension Neptunia cross-over. Despite the distance these two titles share in terms of in-universe rules, he managed to place Rock, Ron, and Dead Master with Neptunia's cast in many separate scenarios and **_**it still made sense in context**_**. I guess it's crazy to mention a cross-over in a place where everything is strictly BRS-only, but I can't just leave out another of my reasons for having my fire set ablaze once more, can I?**

**Also, a special mention towards AcediaPrototype. If you're reading this, then hear me out: you likely just PM'd me for the sole reason of asking about the state this project was in, but let me go ahead and tell you that for me, that meant something. It ignited my morale knowing that there's a few people out there who still await when this story will get back on its feet. Thank you so, so much.**

**Well, enough with this cowsludge. Let's get this chapter started!**

* * *

><p>The mighty waves of the Pacific Ocean roared in all its briny majesty, a force of the ever-present typhoons that marred its serene name. Great walls of water toiled about with the powerful winds, with dark clouds constantly echoing rumbles of thunder powerful enough to strike fear in the hearts of beasts and men alike. Veins of white lightning flashed across the sky, leaving behind glowing trails of electricity whenever they struck the angry waters in a spectacular lightshow of pure, unbridled power.<p>

It was often during this time of year that storms raged the greatest, and many knew of it. But despite such danger, there were others who braved the might of nature all for the sake of duty.

Audible even with the raging storm, powerful sonic booms joined the cacophony of chaos—a sign that marked crafts moving faster than the speed of sound. An entire squadron of massive jets—fighters, to be exact, zoomed above the Pacific waters in an organized V-shaped pattern. Following these fighters mere seconds later was a smaller group of much smaller aircrafts, comparatively sluggish to the preceding planes despite flying at their top speed.

The first planes were known as F-22 Raptors-extremely fast, powerful, and stealthy fighters that rained death from the skies. The second group was known as MQ-9 Reapers-unmanned crafts that acted as tools for air surveillance in the midst of battle.

After receiving the news of what was happening in the Japanese capital of Tokyo, the officials of the Kennedy had immediately dispatched these aerial units without much trouble. There were others who doubted the legitimacy of the report, wanting to ensure where the message actually came from, the exact identity of the sender, and how they managed to obtain such information in the first place.

Still, more agreed that they couldn't let this opportunity slip out of their grasp. So many of them frowned at the idea of letting "freaks" fight this war, but pride and personal opinion couldn't change one critical detail: with the way things were, having the Otherworlders on their side was the best chance they had.

As of now, it was the _only_ chance they had.

Amidst the cacophonous buzzing of the Raptors' powerful engines, the pilots that manned the titanic aircrafts felt more than uncomfortable with the silence of radio chatter and the proverbial tension in the air. Almost all of them felt the need to question their leader's hasty commands, being sent directly into the fight without so much as a reason why.

"Why's everybody quiet as fuck?" One of the pilots spoke over their shared communications link, breaking the stupor of anybody deep in thought.

At that, small mutterings could be heard across their team, most of it being incoherent babble. A moment later, another voice spoke up that silenced the squadron. "You ask permission to use that mouth before you spit anything out, Airman."

"Give us a break, Cap," the soldier who had spoken up answered, "It sounds like a damn funeral! It's like you're all expecting a total team kill with this mission here."

"We hope for the best and prepare for the worst, soldier." The Captain of the squadron replied, his voice hinted with a growl. "Now _shut the fuck up _and fly straight."

"Cap," Another voice carefully cut in, "Please don't be too rough on the guy."

"I don't think your rank's high enough to start ordering me around." The Captain said, his demeanor getting more and more impatient by the second.

"Sorry sir," the same voice replied, "It's just that he's on edge; heck, we all are. We don't even know what we're up against."

"Is that a good enough reason for you to go against protocol?"

"God damn it, Cap," The first pilot spoke up again, but this time, it sounded like he was on the verge of breaking down. "I haven't had word from my wife and kids since I got called here earlier! I don't give two shits what we're up against, I just want to know they're okay!"

"And you'll get your answer," the Captain answered, "You want to see them again? Fine by me. But if you want that to happen, you make it happen. We finish what we came here for: shoot the living shit out of whatever the hell we're supposed to, and once that's done you can mosey over back home."

"_Shiiit_," Another of their squadron hooted, "the Cap's sure using a lot of his _colorful _vocabulary today."

That elicited a series of laughs among their team, easily breaking the tension. The Captain eased up a little, somewhat thankful for the sudden change in atmosphere.

"Never thought I'd see the day," another pilot said, "you've always been the stoic type, Cap."

The Captain sighed. "I'm probably just as high-strung as you boys right now."

"But seriously, do you think we should be doing this?" suggested one other pilot, "It'd be easier for us to just fly back and say that we had technical difficulties or some shit."

"We'll do what we came to do, soldier," said the Captain, "And I should remind you that the folks back at the Kennedy can hear every little word over our comlink."

"Oh, _son of a bitch._" the soldier swore, earning another bout of laughter out of the team.

"That too."

"So Captain," the second pilot to speak up started, "Got any words for us? We risk our lives every time, but I'm thinking this is one mission where the whole team needs a little something to get us motivated."

Probably every soldier on the team agreed with him, judging from the hollers and whoops that were heard over their communications link. The Captain, knowing that denying the request would bring the squadron's spirits down, decided to announce the first agreeable thing he could come up with.

"Alright, how's this? Once we all get back, you're all free to head back to whichever place you like to call home, and I'll handle the executive earful." He paused for a second, satisfied that the team was paying very close attention, "But before that, we're getting ourselves a few beers."

"OH _HELL_ YES!" one soldier practically yelled in excitement.

"Fun and family, baby!" exclaimed another, "Looks like Christmas is coming a few days early!"

"Alright," The Captain raised his voice, "Now that you wackos got something to look forward to, you better keep your shit together! We're all coming back home, and we're all coming back _alive_!"

"HOOAH!" The soldiers all exclaimed in unison, shouting out the signature battlecry of the United States Air Force.

With their minds on the fight ahead and their hearts on the rewards that awaited it, it felt like nothing could quell their determination. They didn't care what awaited them now; if it was an enemy, then it was a soldier's job to take it out-it was a trait as natural as instinct.

After all, no barrier could not be broken down by an iron will to succeed.

* * *

><p><em>Undisclosed Location<em>

Genocide's normally stoic face held a small, satisfied smile that indicated a sway in his favor. The new information he received with the custom gear he used to listen in on the US Military's communications was just what he had expected. He removed the equipment from himself and set them down on the console that it was linked with and faced the eerie wisp with the level-headedness of a professional.

"President Obama has taken the bait." He said, "A squadron of fighter-class planes and air surveillance drones have been dispatched for Tokyo. It's going to take them at least fifteen minutes to arrive at the Japanese capital."

"I'm surprised they didn't bother asking where your little message came from, Genocide." It replied, "It's a wonder how easily they bought it."

"In times like these, human reasoning tends to make use of any advantage that knocks at its door," Genocide said complacently, "And to have made the order almost immediately, I can only imagine how the president of the United States is handling himself."

"Any idea what he's up to?"

Genocide's attention turned towards the one who had spoken, the same behemoth of a man who always wore a gruff face. He was standing with his large arms crossed (something that his new colleagues deduced as a habit), right by his sister who seemed to be focused on whatever was on her laptop before Genocide broke the silence.

"Judging from the units that they sent," Genocide started, "It's most likely that they intend to find our wandering brethren amongst the remains of Tokyo… and if any of them prove hostile, then they'll just have to send them burning."

"It's foolish and barbaric," The wisp said, "What alliance can they hope to create between their kind and our own if they come bearing warheads? Human diplomacy is an atrocious thing..."

"As it has been for eons," Genocide said, "There's nary a negotiation between two parties without either side carrying some… _insurance_ of sorts."

"And as it seems, I have reason to believe that they've taken these actions for military and diplomatic purposes. Really, how long must the leaders of the world keep their people from the truth? With every nation under siege by both angels and demons alike, what will it benefit them or the people if the latter is kept in the dark about the potential powers they possess?"

"What do you propose, then?" Genocide asked.

"Let the presence of us Other Selves be known to the world," the wisp announced, "Let all know that it will not only be demons, angels, and humans that fight for the right to own this earth. The time has come for us to stop hiding in the shadows."

"A broadcast..." The blonde woman finally spoke, gaining the attention of all present. "A broadcast inserted into radio frequencies would be an effective method. But... what message do you plan on giving, anyway?"

"Of course!" The wisp exclaimed, appearing to not have heard her suggestion, "Advanced technology is one of the few good things mankind has accomplished... I want the whole world, not just the leaders within the Kennedy, to witness the battle that will surely take place!"

"Hack into the Reapers' monitoring systems?" The woman answered with the slightest hint of astonishment, "Military networks are far too secure. Such a feat would be close to impossible with all their network defenses."

"But little Deceit is rather well-versed in this field, isn't she?" the wisp said, "I'm sure this is nothing she can't handle. Where is she now?"

The question was met with an air of awkward silence. The momentary pause was broken when Genocide glared at the blonde siblings and seethed, "Still in Tokyo, isn't she?" His glower was especially focused on the female twin, who looked a tad uncomfortable under the unwanted attention.

She nodded uneasily. "I'm afraid so."

"Give her a call."

* * *

><p>Nafhe paced along the snow-covered sidewalk rather sulkily, effortlessly twirling the massive King Saw to try and ease off her wordless frustration. The blade's smoking red aura left a trail as it spun in the air, slowly dissipating like the mist it resembled. That slowed down when Nafhe stopped whirling it around, slightly slowing her pace to glance behind her. She scowled at the sight, and proceeded to walk faster.<p>

"Wait! P-Please slow down, Milady!" Roland wheezed.

The reason for Nafhe's irritation, including why Roland sounded like he just ran a marathon was mainly the latter's fault. In one hand he carried a backpack filled with an assortment of items Nafhe had looted from abandoned stores: game or anime CDs, snacks, comic books, figurines, a few suits (for him, to his expected chagrin), a couple other pieces of clothing that Roland deduced was for what people these days call "cosplaying," and other bits and pieces of trinkets and machinery he couldn't recognize. On his back, resting rather comfortably despite his stuttering movement was a prostrated Deathscythe.

To put things simply, Roland had miraculously managed to talk Nafhe out of butchering the already-mutilated girl and Miss Bunny-eared-hoodie wasn't so happy about it. His cruel and unusual punishment was to be Nafhe's pack mule for the duration of the Tokyo trip, something that was a lot more strenuous than those times he had to lift weights during boot camp. The pack that he carried felt _twice_ as heavy as the girl on his back, for crying out loud!

"I don't need to slow down; _you_ just need to walk _faster_!" Nafhe exclaimed angrily.

"But I can't!" Roland said, his voice rather strained, "This thing's too heavy!"

"If _that's_ the case," Nafhe's voice was dripping with sarcasm, "why don't you just leave _Deathscythe_ behind if she's too much for you?"

"I-I didn't mean—"

"So you'd choose her over obeying me?"

"Milady, we just went through this!" he protested, "We can't just leave her behind; besides, isn't she a friend of yours?"

"I told you a kajillion times, she's not!" Nafhe yelled, whirling around to face him. "That girl needs a helping of soap with everything she eats 'cause she's a big, BIG pottymouth!"

Roland sighed. "I still can't see how that's enough of a reason to kill her…"

"It is when I say it is," Nafhe said, shouldering the King Saw like it was nothing. "You know, I'm starting to wonder if you're even going to do good as a butler. You're barely a day into the job and you're already complaining about the little things!"

"_Little_ thi-?"

Faster than Roland could blink, the soldier's eyes widened when he felt the heavy weight of the King Saw on his forehead, accompanied with a short gust of heated air; Nafhe had swung the blade right at him and stopped exactly before it would have split his skull in two. Roland's body stiffened, his frightened gaze stuck on the sight of the golden sword.

"I can tolerate a little rebellion," Nafhe said, glaring at Roland, "but I don't like disobedience."

_'Sekaaaai de ichiban ohime-sama...'_

The high-pitched buzz of a handheld ringtone snapped Nafhe out of her stance and made Roland jolt in suprise. Setting the edge of the King Saw on the ground and keeping it steady, she shuffled through her clothing with her free hand for a moment before she brought out a pink cellphone. She raised an eyebrow upon seeing who was calling her, turning away from Roland and bringing the phone to her ear.

"What is it? I'm kind of in the middle of something here." Nafhe said before she paused for a moment, muffled voices being the only audible noises for an observer—Roland, especially. Whatever she was talking about with the person on the other end, he didn't know, and probably wasn't interested in.

"Eh?" Nafhe exclaimed, "Here? In Tokyo? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Again, the subject was lost on Roland, quite bemused already. "Gimme a break, this was my one chance to loot junk before somebody else beat me to it!" She paused for a moment, another series of muffled noise emanating from the phone. "Who do you think you're talking to? _Of course_ I can do that." Another pause. "Yeah, yeah, _whatevs_."

Nafhe pocketed the phone away, once again turning her attention on Roland with a scowl. She looked from the soldier to the girl he was carrying, her eyes shifting back and forth for a few moments before she brought a sleeve-covered hand to her face.

"Screw it," she muttered before putting her hand back down, "I'm going to be busy with something, so I'm going to have to leave you here for a sec. But," she pointed the aforementioned hand at him, "if you get _way_ too comfy with her, there's going to be consequences!"

Roland only stared at the raised hand (or the small protruding lump in the fabric, indicating an offending finger being pointed at him) with a slightly aggravated expression for a few seconds before he politely answered, "Understood, Milady."

"Good."

Roland jumped a step back out of surprise when Nafhe suddenly impaled the King Saw right into the ground, sending small chips of concrete flying. She gave him one last glance before she leapt for the building wall beside them, another pair of large knives suddenly popping out of each sleeve and using them to latch onto the surface. She scaled its height at inhuman speed, quickly reaching the roof with the velocity and maneuverability of an animal.

Roland gawked up at the building, flabbergasted at how quickly Nafhe managed to climb up the structure within the space of a few seconds, let alone wearing something that shouldn't have given anyone an acrobatic advantage. And given how those massive sleeves didn't seem to sag over her little arms and the occasional glint under them that Roland could see whenever Nafhe raised them high enough, he was fairly certain that she kept more than just an array of huge knives hidden, which possibly meant that whatever else she carried probably weighed a _lot_.

He wondered how he even grew the nerve to stand up to her earlier…

"Little shit," A voice that was _right_ behind him muttered, albeit weakly, "Like hell I'd let this tyke hit on me. I'm no pedophile…"

Roland had tensed up out of the unexpected remark, but he quickly relaxed and decided to do something stupid again. He sure did a lot of that today, especially in the face of someone who could end his life in a split-second. The bitter December cold and the looming prospect of death likely did not do his sanity any favors.

"I'm twenty-three, you know." He said with a bit of nervous humor in his tone.

"And I was already ancient way before your ancestors were little tadpoles in their daddy's ballsack." Deathscythe retorted, giving Roland an unexpected reply that he couldn't make a comeback for.

He turned his head to take a look at the current state of his "passenger," presently wearing a scowl that would have burned a hole into his skull. "Uh, hey," Roland greeted uneasily, "How do you feel?"

"Like shit." Deathscythe hissed, "Just knowing that I'm being carried around by the likes of you makes me want to puke."

"Um... do you want to get off?"

Without even giving Roland a reply, Deathscythe wriggled out of his hold, pushing him away. The rude gesture backfired when she landed painfully on her rear, making her spit a string of profanities that would have made a vulgar sailor cringe.

Roland let out a frustrated sigh. This day just kept getting worse by the hour.

* * *

><p>Unknown to Roland, he was actually right about something: Nafhe really <em>did<em> have more than a bunch of knives up her sleeve.

She settled on the center of the building's roof, surveying her environment: the surrounding buildings, the quality of the air, and the state of the sky above. When she decided that this spot would do, she rolled up one of her massive sleeves with a little difficulty and revealed what they had been concealing.

Covering her arm from the wrist up to the upper arm was a series of metal plates melding into a cylindrical shape, lined with rows of large, serrated knives that were all folded back. It could easily be seen that they were made for optimum efficiency when they were to be used, any number of them able to smoothly spring into place within a moment. The pistons and hinges present on the elbow joint suggested that despite the lower armor's weight, it could still be supported by the upper arm without much technical difficulty.

Nafhe clicked on a small knob near its front, and what appeared to be a lock in front of the contraption shifted downwards, revealing the reason behind the lower armor's cylindrical shape: being a separate compartment for other items. Nafhe pulled out a small laptop along with a long, thin metal rod. She set the laptop aside, getting on one knee and setting the rod upright, the object easily standing erect against the rough concrete. She slightly bended the upper half of the rod forward, and with a twist of her wrist, overlapping plates sprung into a somewhat flat, conical shape, taking the form of a satellite dish.

After making sure the satellite dish pointed East, Nafhe fished inside of her arm compartment and pulled out a long wire, inserting it into a small jack near the base of the satellite dish and the other end into the laptop. She booted up the device, and after a few seconds a wallpaper depicting a boy-and-girl duo with blonde hair (both dressed in sailor uniforms and each sporting a microphone for some reason) popped up on the screen.

Nafhe giggled at the sight for a moment before she opened several different windows, some of them being a series of numbers and letters—all codes incomprehensible to the average person. She sported a grin when she heard a beeping sound, and after her hands practically danced over the keyboard, a series of code she had typed out opened six more windows, each one a moving image showing a quickly moving surface of water and the faint silhouette of a city skyline.

"Psssh," Nafhe scoffed smugly to herself, thinking, "_The Military seriously needs to jack up their defenses or something. At this rate there'd be no network I can't sneak into_."

She set the laptop down, now rolling her left sleeve up and opening its own storage compartment. She took out four more of the same metal rods, and after she set them up into satellite dishes, each pointed in different directions, she took out another set of wires and hooked them up to a small brick-shaped contraption and then into the laptop.

Another window popped up on the screen, this time completely blank. After Nafhe typed out another series of code, one set of code slowly showed up after the other, then another before the window was already filled with another wall of lines of unintelligible numbers and letters. However, from time to time, actual words would appear among the lines of gibberish text: geographical locations.

_Tokyo._

_New York._

_Moscow._

_Manila._

_Ottawa._

_Beijing._

_Canberra._

"Well World," Nafhe muttered, "Time to see what you're up against."

* * *

><p>With everyone else already gone to take their own respective positions, Yuu and Rumiho—AKA Strength and Underworld Vulcan were sharing a rather tense moment of mutual silence.<p>

A soft breeze gently howled in their ears as it swept over the district. Rumiho's flashy maid outfit and the scarf that Yuu had conveniently brought along were barely enough to appease the harsh cold, the latter's discomfort all too obvious from how she shivered erratically.

Akihabara was an image of utter desolation: buildings and other structures were horridly damaged beyond repair, automobiles lay sprawled like toys ravaged by a child with a tantrum, and dark tendrils of smoke stained the skyline in twisting pillars of black. The worst detail to mark the district, to the horror of anyone who would see it, was numbers of corpses of both humans and demons scattered along the streets.

Men, women and children. Demons both large and small. All lay dead on the cold, shattered concrete, all victims of a common desecrator.

The merry tune of Christmas music echoed from public speakers left intact. The sound reverberated along the district as it was always meant to, but without the smallest expression of happiness to take in the music, it felt just as dead as the cold environment. If anything, the presence of happy, nostalgic music only summed up the terrible reality that Akihabara was already lost, resembling for all the world like a song of mourning.

But there was still something else. A sound that would have been met with dread had it reached the ears of lesser beings: a steady, loud, and _extremely_ heavy pounding of the earth in the distance, making the ground tremble with each thud.

Footsteps. _Large_ ones. Each closer than the last.

Yuu and Rumiho lay partially concealed in the shadows provided by an alley facing a large highway. Yuu was leaning against the building wall, one of her gloved hands raised in front of her. She snapped her fingers every few seconds, staring at them with growing irritation in her glowing gaze. Her fingers gave off a small spark every once in a while, but the look in her eyes told that it was not the result she wanted. She groaned in frustration after a few moments, setting her hand back down.

She leaned the back of her head against the wall, feeling a small sense of comfort from the cold concrete. She raised her head, seeing snowflakes fall slowly from what little of the gray sky she could see with the space between two buildings. Her eyes followed one little snowflake as it slowly descended, the delicate frost instantly reduced to its liquid state and then into steam once it landed onto her waiting palm and absorbed itself into the unearthly fabric.

"_Not good enough,"_ Yuu thought to herself.

She clenched her fist shut and turned towards her companion, finding that she was not quite in similar spirits as her at the moment.

Rumiho's eyes were downcast, her eyebrows ruffled and one of her feet tapping noisily against the cement below. Her small hands held on to her weapon's handles rather tightly, her right thumb nervously prodding her vulcan's trigger like her entire life depended on it.

"What's wrong with you?" Yuu asked.

Her words elicited a surprised gasp out of Rumiho, who suddenly jerked and accidentally fired a salvo into the facing wall, causing Yuu to instantly jump out of relaxed stance. The concrete gave way, a sizeable portion of the wall collapsing from the damage.

Breathing heavily, Rumiho faced Strength and cried, "Don't scare me like that!"

"What the hell, Vulcan?" Yuu snapped in alarm, "That could've killed somebody!"

Rumiho didn't immediately give a reply. She tried to calm herself and leaned back on the wall, keeping Yuu out of her sight. Indolently, she dragged her large weapon on the ground and set the barrel down, leaning on it like some giant staff.

"There's nobody to kill anymore." She said softly. She grimaced and added, "All the people here are dead."

"And a lot more are going to be if we let Geshumaru find them." Yuu said. She leaned back on the wall and crossed her arms. "We're going to stop that thing here. We have to."

"Why?" Rumiho asked softly. "Why do we have to be the ones to do it? Why can't we leave it to someone else?" She tightened her grip on her weapon, feeling the magnitude of the task ahead of them chip away at her spirit. "I... I don't want to do this, Strength."

"It's not a matter about whether you want to do this or not," Yuu answered bluntly, "We have to because we're the only ones who can."

"But I don't want to!" Rumiho snapped, still trying her best not to look at Yuu for fear of the consequences her actions would bring. There was a telltale sign of fear and desperation in her voice, something that caught Yuu's full attention. "I… I never wanted any of this. I just wanted to spend these days with family and friends… And suddenly all these monsters show up and start killing people!"

Rumiho's voice started to break. "I… we… we managed to survive because of unification, but what then? Mayuri and Kurisu are all I have left. Everyone else… they all got killed by those damn things. And then… j-just when we thought things were going to be okay, Geshumaru shows up and slaughters those we thought we could save." She turned her head towards Yuu, tears falling from frightened eyes. "Tell me, Strength… What good is all our power if we can't even use it to protect a _single_ human life?"

"What good will it all be if you haven't done a damn thing?" Yuu answered with a scowl.

Her answer took Rumiho by surprise. She was silent, not knowing how to respond. She had somewhat expected a consoling word, a light soothing, maybe an unreturned response; but she was bluntly given a truth she didn't want to hear.

"You want to do something good?" Yuu spoke indignantly, "You want to make up for your mistakes? You want to be a hero? Then being a pathetic wimp isn't going to pull a deus ex machina out of your ass."

A spark of anger rose in Rumiho. She wanted to send an insult or some retort back, but the unearthed fear she had always held for Strength held her back like a beast yanked by its chain. She clenched her teeth and gave her reply, not bothering to look at Yuu.

"D-Dont lump me in with someone like you..." She spoke, barely keeping her voice from breaking into a frustrated shout. "I'm no legend. I-I'm not somebody who'll ever get used to war and death. I can't have confidence like yours. Even after all these years... I-I'll never measure up to you!"

"You never will."

"W-What?"

"I said, '_you never will._'" Yuu answered, putting harsh emphasis in her words. "We didn't go through the same shit. What we are now is basically just the result of the junk that the world throws at you. But seeing you, here and now, chickening out before the real fight's even started? I can't see you getting anywhere near my level."

At this point, Rumiho's apprehension only worsened. Putting aside her dread as best as she could, she asked, "Why are you doing this?"

When Yuu only regarded her sternly, Rumiho continued, "Why are you trying to drag me down at a time like this? I thought you wanted to win this fight!"

"_Us_, Vulcan." Yuu said. "I want _us_ to win this fight."

"Then why-?!"

"So I can pull you out of your funk, that's why!" Yuu cut her off, raising her voice. "Do you just plan on waltzing right into battle all preoccupied with your self-pitying garbage? Do you think you can even pull the trigger if you'd rather wet your fancy dress and run?"

Her response made Rumiho back away, immediately making her aim her colossal weapon at Yuu. The massive firearm rattled with its owner's own trembling, making her fear all too visible. "O-One wrong m-move..." Rumiho stuttered, "O-One wrong move and I'll shoot!"

"So that's how it is, Vulcan?" Yuu said, not deterred in the slightest at the prospect of death. She took a step forward, Rumiho retreating steadily with each advance. "What, do you want to screw up some more?! Go ahead, SHOOT! Kill me now, and you kill off what's left of your fancy little city!"

"SHUT UP!" Rumiho yelled, pushing her weapon forward in hopes of intimidating Yuu-a worthless effort.

Yuu fiercely grabbed her weapon by its bayonet, aiming all eight of its deadly barrels at herself. "_Shoot_." She said with a growl, her fiery eyes glaring at Rumiho.

The frightened girl couldn't return a gaze on par with Yuu's. Both of them held their stances for several moments, with Rumiho's nervous breathing being the only disturbance to mar the tense silence. Several more moments in, the crackling sound of static echoed in the alley walls. The disturbance had been from a two-way radio that Yuki had lent Yuu earlier as a means for communication between their teams.

Yuu took the radio from its place on her belt, speaking into the receiver. "Snowball?"

"Everything dandy over there, Shorty?" Yuki's garbled voice crackled from the speaker, "I think I just heard you yelling over something. I think there was a gunshot right at your position, too."

"It's nothing you should be worried about," Yuu replied, turning her attention on a still-tense Rumiho, "I just had a bit of an argument with Pinky over here."

After a few seconds Yuki replied, "Jeez, Shorty, do you guys really have to try and kill each other every time someone blows a fuse? Even I don't think that's civil."

Just as Yuu was about to voice a response, the distant rumbling of the earth had suddenly grown stronger, the thundering footsteps drawing ever closer. Rumiho staggered before she tried to take a more steady posture, frightfully pointing her weapon whichever way she turned. Yuu, however, stood her ground and did not show a single sign of anxiety.

"You hearing that too?" Yuki said, any trace of the earlier easiness no longer present in her tone.

"Clear as crystal, Snowball." Yuu answered.

"We'd better get ready," Yuki said, with the metallic clicking of a firearm easily audible through the radio. "You guys better prep yourselves ASAP. Yuki ou—"

"Wait." Yuu cut her off.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Just… Take care of yourselves."

After a moment of silence, Yuki said, "Whoa, Shorty, you actually sounded worried about me."

"No, I said 'yourselves,' as in plural. I'm concerned about the two regular humans on the job."

An amused snicker could be heard from the other end. "_Regular_ humans? Don't take me lightly, Shorty! Just 'cause you might drop World War Three on this Geshumario doesn't mean I can't pull my own weight."

"Point taken," Yuu said, "Though, I'd already be impressed if you manage to do half as much as I will."

"What you can do with those fists of yours, Shorty, I can do just as much with my guns. Twice as much, at least." The soldier ribbed back playfully. "Yuki out."

A brief crackle of static indicated the end of their transmission. Yuu pocketed the radio, turning her attention back on Rumiho. "Well?"

"H-Huh?"

"What will you do now?" Yuu asked her.

"I…" Rumiho muttered, "I don't know."

"I'll give you two choices, kid." Yuu said, raising two fingers in front of her, "The first one is this: I'll let you go, and you and your buddies can get as far away as you can from here. You can wallow all you want in your regrets, you can keep on running from your shadows, you can try to live until you're tired of it all; I won't give a rat's ass what you do or what happens to you."

"Or," Yuu continued, "You can stop being sorry for yourself and try to remember why you're here in the first place. Out there is the son of a bitch who brought this hell on Akiba," she said as she raised a finger in the direction the thundering footsteps had been coming from, "Once it realizes we're in arm's reach, it won't hesitate crushing you like a cockroach. But before it gets a chance to make that happen, you'd better let all of that frustration you've been bottling in loose. You just keep on shooting. Don't ever let go of the trigger until it clicks empty. Don't let Geshumaru have the pleasure of hearing you scream."

Rumiho, too caught up within a myriad of unstable emotions, didn't notice Yuu pull her close by her clothes and knock their foreheads together. Yuu's eyes, holding an unwavering, steel-strong resolve gazed right into Rumiho's own. Despite it being too close for comfort, Rumiho's thoughts could now only focus on Yuu's next words, finding no other option but to take them in as something to hold on to for the daunting task ahead of them.

"Prove me wrong, _Underworld Vulcan_." Yuu said, a separate thought in her mind telling her that the mere mention of the frightened girl's name earned her every last fragment of attention she needed. "Don't be a coward who runs before the battle's begun; be the person who had the _guts_ to point a gun in my face."

Yuu's grip on Rumiho's clothes tightened, her eyes narrowing and her voice becoming a low growl to drive her point home. "Show me what you're _really_ made of."

Her hold loosened, and she took a step back as Rumiho grew silent again, lost in her own thoughts.

"Do you... really think we can stand a chance?" Rumiho asked softly.

"Let's see," Yuu started, counting off her fingers, "There's Gunner, with that rifle I made especially for blasting holes into anything as far as her eyes can see; there's you, with a portable vulcan gun that's useful for almost anything regarding combat; there's two jarheads on our team that may actually live up to their words and can do as much as you; and, of course, there's me." She smirked at Rumiho, "I _know_ we stand a chance."

"There's so many ways this can go wrong." Rumiho protested, "We still have Geshumaru to worry about as well. Just one slip and things could go downhill for us!"

"You're only making an assumption." Yuu countered, "And if Geshumaru _does_ take us by surprise, we'll worry about that when it happens. Do you think I would have bothered coming here if I knew we'd get ourselves killed? How can you focus on what we have to do-what needs to be done, when you also have to worry about how it can go wrong? You can prepare for any circumstance that flies in your way, but what good will that do you if your head's a jumbled mess of 'what ifs?'

"If there's something you have to know about me, it's that I don't back things on speculative bullshit; I place them on certainties."

"And what if something really does happen? We... We all aren't as powerful as you. What if we are all taken down, and you're the only one left standing? When all the odds have turned against you..." Rumiho hesitated to ask for a moment, but as a small, desperate piece of herself wished so much to have something to hold on to, a small fragment of hope, there was nothing else she could do but speak, and pray that she would have an answer.

"What makes you think you'll still win?"

A deafening crash exploded not too far from their position. The trembling of the ground grew even stronger, powdery snow falling from where they gathered up the sides of the adjacent buildings. From their view of the highway, the meager light from the overcast sky was suddenly blocked by the shadow of a towering figure, telling them that their battle would soon begin in a matter of moments.

Yuu turned and walked towards the highway, both of her gloves glowing a bright white. They enlarged in shape, emitting a number of whirs, clicks and clangs of metal shifting into their respective functions. As the glow dissipated and the last black metal pieces of the fabled Ogre Arms locked in place, Yuu tilted her head to give Rumiho a genuine smile, laced with the confidence and reassurance that never left her spirit.

"Simple," Yuu said, "because I'm Strength."

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that's that for now. I'll see you guys soon; and don't forget to leave a Review!<strong>


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